


There's a Place For Us

by hydrash



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, M/M, Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-12 14:48:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 53,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28762065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hydrash/pseuds/hydrash
Summary: Life is a mess. Sometimes the only way through it is with the support of friends. But when there are so many small groups of friends that are all connected in some way things start to get complicated. When families fall apart and friendships change who’s to say how close everyone remains.Molly and Gwendolen have their Girl Code. | James, Louis, Fred and Parker want to be the Marauders. | Rose and Milla want to do well. | Albus, Carter and Scorpius don’t want to be their families. | Lily and Ivy think everyone needs to chill. | Hugo and Felix wished they lived in a 90’s kids sitcom.They might not all be friends, but at least they get along...sometimes.(Mainly friendship based, some relationships later.)
Relationships: Albus Severus Potter/Original Female Character(s), Fred Weasley II/Original Female Character(s), James Sirius Potter/Original Female Character(s), Louis Weasley/Original Male Character(s), Molly Weasley II/Original Male Character(s), Scorpius Malfoy/Rose Weasley, Teddy Lupin/Victoire Weasley
Kudos: 12





	1. Gwendolen

**Author's Note:**

> Gwendolen Grace Smythe wants to get through school without too much trouble.  
> “Somebody get me a hammer  
> Wanna break all the clocks and the mirror  
> And go back to a time that was different”
> 
> James Sirius Potter believes he is the reincarnation of his grandfather.  
> “Lately, I've been struggling  
> With all the simple things in my life”
> 
> Molly Audrey Weasley hopes Gwen will stop hating James.  
> “Cause life is tough enough  
> You gotta show a little love  
> Sometimes I mess it up”
> 
> Louis William Weasley wishes James would stop getting everyone into trouble.  
> “If I am telling the truth  
> Watching my friends break their hearts into two  
> Makes me jealous, I know that it's cruel”
> 
> Fred Arthur Weasley needs to break all the detention records.  
> “I just wanna have a little fun for a bit  
> Without worrying about what it is  
> People in relationships just look ridiculous”
> 
> Parker Thomas Peterson would prefer his friends to all just get along.  
> “They say don't fall too hard, or you'll just lose it all  
> They made these rules, they break them too  
> The same as us”
> 
> Carter Eric Smythe thinks his life is a complete mess.  
> “Feel like every day I'm losing friends  
> That were meant to be  
> Sharing laughs with the no ones sat next to me”
> 
> Milla Petunia Dursley loves the new world and family she’s found.  
> “Add a little sugar, they say  
> Be a little sweeter, they say  
> Gotta give and take, but I say  
> This time it's my way”
> 
> Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy longs to be seen as separate to his father.  
> “Some days I wake up and I feel like I just wanna  
> Dye my hair neon green, so I can forget I'm me”
> 
> Albus Severus Potter yearns to be taken seriously.  
> “There are times I wish that I was somebody else  
> Pretending I'm okay but, shit, I'm hating myself”
> 
> Rose Nymphadora Granger-Weasley aspires to be as brilliant as her mother.  
> “I thought I'd get a grip and be fine by now  
> But it kinda feels like I'm losing my mind right now”
> 
> Ivy Anne Smythe reckons everyone needs to chill.  
> “‘Cause this life doesn't always go the way it should  
> Sometimes bad things happen to people that are good”
> 
> Felix Timothy Garcia misses the way his life use to be.  
> “My whole life, I've felt like a burden  
> I think too much, and I hate it  
> I'm so used to being in the wrong, I'm tired of caring”
> 
> Lily Luna Potter craves solidarity from her overbearing family.  
> “No and I'm not sorry, I'm just loving my body  
> I don't care if you scared of a sweet little unforgettable thing”
> 
> Hugo Ronald Granger-Weasley feels like the world around him is going crazy.  
> “You shouldn't mess with me  
> You don't wanna mess with me  
> 'Cause if you mess with me  
> You're messin' with my family”
> 
> Really, they’re all just trying to find who they are and where they fit in.

“Gwen, sweetie, you’re going to be fine.” My mother, Kayleigh Smythe said to me as we stood on platform 9 ¾.

I was about to start my first year at Hogwarts. I knew that although I had dreamed about this day for many years I didn’t feel ready. It was going to be the first time I was away from both my brother and sister. I didn’t want that.

I looked over at my brother Carter and my sister Ivy stood next to my father, Eric.

“Mummy I’m not ready.” I whispered to mother.

She just laughed at me. I knew it was because she knew truth. I just didn’t want to leave Carter and Ivy behind.

“Gwendolen Grace Smythe, you get on that train and go to Hogwarts.” Father told me. “You’ve been waiting for this for years.”

“Gwen we’ll be fine.” Carter said as he watched me get ready to go.

“We have each other.” Ivy said as she held on to Carter’s hand.

I smiled at them both before pulling them into a hug. When I stepped back from my family I smiled at them once again before heading off into the train.

Upon stepping into the train I could heard loud yelling from a group of compartments. There was no way I was going to sit there. It was in my best interest to avoid whoever was making all that noise at all costs. There was no way I was getting mixed up in that nightmare. As I dragged my trunk along the train someone came out of one of the noisy compartments, knocking me to the ground.

“Ugh, watch where you’re going.” I said looking up at the person who had knocked me down.

In front of me stood a boy. It as though he was the same age as me. Just great. Based on the expression on his face he seemed excessively irritating. I am staying as far away from him as possible.

“What have you done now James?” A voice came from the compartment the boy had just come out of.

A boy, if he could even be called that, stuck his head out of the compartment. He appeared to be a man. Probably a seventh year. He did seem rather fascinating though. His hair was bright blue, something I’d never seen before. Who had blue hair?

“Help the girl up.” The blue haired boy told the younger boy who had knocked me over.

This irritating boy must be James. Why else would the blue haired boy have called him that? The two seemed to know one another as James rolled his eyes at the blue haired boy before proceeding to put out his hand to help me up. I took his hand although I knew it was probably the worst thing I could have done. 

“Are you alright?” He asked.

I could tell he didn’t really care. He just wanted to seem like a nice person in front of the blue haired boy but by the look on the blue haired boy’s face he wasn’t buying it. They obviously knew each other well enough that he wasn’t buying this charade even when the younger boy wasn’t facing him.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” I responded before pushing past the boy.

If there was any chance of me getting to read I would have to get away from this boy. I needed a much quieter compartment. Actually, probably a whole new carriage.

“What’s your name?” James called after me as I walked away..

“You’ll find out at some point.” I called over my shoulder.

Let’s just hope he doesn’t come looking for me. I do not want anything to do with him.

As I continued down the train I realised that most compartments were full and the ones that didn’t have many people were ones with small groups of friends talking loudly. That was until a came across one compartment containing only two people.

There was a boy and a girl in there. They both seemed completely engrossed in a book each. Maybe I could actually get some reading done in here.

“Do you mind if I join you?” I asked after opening the door. “It’s really loud back that way.”

I indicated to the area of the train I’d just come from glancing that way to see if anyone had followed me.

“Oh, yeah, that’s fine.” The girl responded. “I’m Molly Weasley.”

“Gwendolen Smythe.” I said shaking the girl’s hand and sitting down beside her.

“Louis Weasley.” The boy said also shaking my hand before adding. “We’re cousins.”

“Unfortunately there’s a lot of us.” Molly explained.

“How many?” I asked not quite sure why they were telling me this however I thought I should just go along with it.

“Well there’s seven Weasleys.” Louis said. “Two Granger-Weasleys and then the three Potters.”

“Plus there’s Teddy.” Molly explained.

I just stared at them. That was a huge family. I had enough trouble managing my two siblings and singular cousin. There was no way I could deal with a family that big.

“There’s four of us in first year.” Louis said. “I can only hope Fred and I aren’t in the same house. Could you imagine how annoying it would be?”

“Uncle George managed it with Uncle Fred when they were young.” Molly said before placing her hand over her mouth. “Oops.”

“What’s wrong?” I asked looking between the two cousins.

Obviously something had happened with the family. I just couldn’t tell why it would be something they wouldn’t talk about.

“Uncle Fred died in the war.” Louis explained. “It’s hard for Uncle George. They were twins.”

I just nodded. What else was I supposed to say? Their uncle had died in a war that occurred before we were even born.

“How many of your cousins are already at Hogwarts?” I asked wanting to find out more about their family and if there was anyone that might be trouble.

“Well there’s my two sisters.” Louis explained. “Victoire and Dominique. Vic’s a fifth year Ravenclaw and Dom’s a third year Gryffindor.”

“And of course there’s Teddy Lupin.” Molly explained. “He’s not really our cousin but his godfather is our uncle. Both his parents died in the war. His dad was good friends with our uncle’s father. It’s a little confusing but so is our entire family.”

There was nothing I could say. Their family seemed to have been so connected to the war. I’d really only heard about it not truly knowing what had happened. My mother was a witch and she had been to Hogwarts but she had fallen in love with a muggle and disconnected herself from the wizarding world.

“Teddy’s a seventh year.” Molly continued. “And he’s head boy. He’s in Hufflepuff.”

“And then this year both Molly and I are starting.” Louis explained. “Along with Fred and James.”

My eyes widened at this. That irritating boy who had run into me was their cousin. Oh no. If I had just befriended these two I was going to have to have something to do with James.

“Does Teddy have blue hair?” I asked hoping that maybe there was more than one James.

“Yeah, he does.” Louis said. “He’s a metamorphmagus.”

I let out a sigh. Now there was no way I could escape James. That was the end of the conversation. Considering my reaction to no one else wanted to say anything. Both Molly and Louis picked up their books and continued reading. I smiled at them as I pulled a book out of my bag and started reading. This was all I wanted. Friends who wanted to read as much as I did.

“I think we’ve located a compartment of future Ravenclaws.” A voice said from the doorway of the compartment.

We all looked at the doorway. There was a boy standing there. I heard two groans come from behind me at this. this had to be one of their cousins. Probably Fred based on what I’d heard.

It was then that I also let out a groan. A boy pushed Fred aside so the two could stand side by side in the doorway. It was James. Could my life get any worse?

“I do believe we have.” James said.

Of course James had somehow found me. My life would never go the way I wanted it.

“Well dear cousins are you going to introduce us.” James said.

It was clear that he just wanted to know who I was. Honestly that boy needed someone to teach him some form of subtlety.

“James, Fred, this is Gwendolen Smythe.” Louis said rolling his eyes.

“Gwendolen, these are our other cousins, James Potter and Fred Weasley.” Molly said glaring at her cousins who had sat down either side of Louis.

“They’re trouble?” I asked although I did need an answer to this.

Based on Teddy’s reaction to James earlier and the way the other two had reacted to their appearance it was clear that both boys were trouble but together they were even worse.

“Well considering they are both named after pranksters they clearly are.” Molly told me.

“Just gotta make our namesakes proud.” James said as he high fived Fred in front of Louis.

I looked at Louis who looked about ready to kill his cousins. Then Louis stood up. If he was leaving I was leaving too. I was not going to be stuck in a compartment with these two idiots. I just watched Louis as he swapped sides of the compartment sitting between myself and Molly.

“Maybe if we’re all in Ravenclaw we’ll escape them.” Louis whispered to both myself and Molly.

“How likely is it that that will actually happen?” Molly asked. “Think about it. Both our fathers were in Gryffindor Lou. Neither of our mothers went to Hogwarts. There’s a high chance we’ll be in Gryffindor with the two idiots.”

“Vic’s in Ravenclaw.” Louis defended.

“My mother was a Ravenclaw.” I explained.

“You two are safe, I’m not.” Molly accepted. “Please don’t leave me to deal with them by myself.”

Both of them looked at me.

“What?” I asked.

“You’ll be sorted first.” Louis explained.

I just nodded knowing what they wanted.

“Doll, stay with us.” James told me.

I just shot him a glare. What the hell was wrong with him?

* * *

As we all walked into the Great Hall I could tell that my eyes had lit up. The roof was the most wonderful thing I had ever seen. It was a perfect reflection of the night sky that we had previously been under.

“When I call out your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted.” The teacher, who I knew to be Professor Longbottom, told us first years.

I looked at Louis who was side me. I knew he hoped that we would be in the same house, with Molly as well. The three of us all stood whispering throughout most of the sorting ceremony hoping to get in some final conversation before we were possibly separated. We all hoped that we would be able to remain friends regardless. Well I hoped they’d still talk to me. They were family so they were stuck with one another.

We stopped our whispering as soon as Professor Longbottom called, “Potter, James.”

We watched as James walked up to the stool his entire appearance filled with arrogance. He sat down on the stool and faced out at us. It took no time at all for the hat to yell “GRYFFINDOR” once it touched James’ head. James smirked as he walked over to the Gryffindor table. I just rolled my eyes at him. The prick really was rather irritating.

I went back to conversing with Louis and Molly hoping to calm my nerves for when it was my time to go up.

“Smythe, Gwendolen.” The professor called.

I smiled at my friends before walking up to the stood.

“Hmm, not quite like your mother.” A voice said in my ear. “A difficult one you are.”

I looked down at Louis and Molly who were both watching me anxiously. I could tell they really wanted us to stay together. I did too. I couldn’t imagine being with anyone else.

“You want to stay with your friends.” The voice continued. “Hmm, very well, better be GRYFFINDOR.”

I smiled to myself as I walked over to the Gryffindor table. I was going to stay with my friends. I couldn’t imagine anything better.

“Couldn’t stay away from me, could you Doll?” James said once I sat down.

I had realised that too my horror I was now facing him. The boy who sat beside him tried not to laugh at James’ comment. I’m pretty sure his name was Parker Peterson, he was sorted just before James.

“Would you please stop it with that stupid name.” I told him.

“Never.” James promised causing Parker to laugh even harder.

I rolled my eyes at him before turning my attention back to the sorting.

“Weasley, Fred.” Professor Longbottom called.

Much like James, Fred’s sorting lasted all of two seconds with the hat yelling, “GRYFFINDOR” the moment it touched Fred’s head. Fred jumped off the stool walking over to sit beside James. The two boys high fived.

“Weasley, Louis.” was called and I watched as the boy walked over to the stool.

As I watched Louis as he sat down on the stool. As the hat was placed on his head he looked over at me. I smiled at him letting him know that it was okay. It didn’t take too long after that for the hat to yell, “GRYFFINDOR” once again. Louis walked over to table and sat beside me.

“You had to sit with him.” Louis said indicating to his cousins sitting across from us.

“It was an accident, I swear.” I told him.

We both turned our heads to watch as Molly walked up to the stool having been called while we were talking. She smiled at us as the hat was placed on her head. As we smiled back at her we heard the hat yell, “GRYFFINDOR” causing both mine and Louis’ smiles to widen.

“We’re all together.” Molly pointed out sitting down on the other side of Louis.

“I suppose we are.” I laughed.

The rest of the night went by fairly quickly after that. We were all rather tired so as soon as the meal was done and we were lead to our dorms both Molly and I crashed onto our beds, dead to the world.

I know it was wrong but I didn’t even bother to acknowledge the other girls who were in our dorm. I was far too tired for that.


	2. Fred

We walked down the corridor. This was so boring. I thought Hogwarts would be fun. I thought we’d be playing Quidditch and causing trouble but all we have done so far is go to classes and do homework.

The girls, Louis and even Parker are the biggest buzz kills. They are always trying to get us to study and do our homework. Come on, live a little.

“Teddy.” James yelled before running off on me.

“James.” I yelled after him.

The two of us ran down the corridor bumping into almost everyone as we ran. James was chasing after a head of blue hair while I followed his messy hair.

“I should give you two detention for running through the halls.” Teddy said as we collapsed on one another as we reached him. “But you’re family so I won’t. This time.”

“Teddy school is so boring.” James whined to the older boy.

“It’s supposed to be.” Teddy told us. “It is school after all.”

“Will you tell us one of dad’s stories?” James asked Teddy.

I nodded along with him. Maybe one of the stories would tell us something that could make this boring school just a little bit better. I know my dad was nothing but trouble while he was here but I also know that he still doesn’t like to talk about it considering it was all with Uncle Fred.

“Fine, but only one.” Teddy said having looked down at us two first years. “I do have stuff to do.”

Both James and I had identical smirks as we followed Teddy. He was taking us out to the grounds so we could sit by the lake while he talked. It was a decent enough day so I could see why he chose that.

“You don’t need to know any more about your dad’s time at Hogwarts.” Teddy told James. “Wait until you’re older and he’ll tell you more.”

We were both disappointed. We like hearing about Uncle Harry’s time at Hogwarts. It seemed so interesting. He did all sorts of cool stuff. Like fighting a troll. And a three headed dog. Or Uncle Ron’s giant chess game. Or when they flew to school in Grandpa’s flying car. Or when they…

“I’ll tell you about when my dad was at Hogwarts.” Teddy explained.

“But I thought you never knew your dad.” I asked forgetting for a moment that it wasn’t polite to ask about that sort of thing.

“Yes, thank you for that Fred.” Teddy said through gritted teeth. “I’d forgotten that I was merely a baby when my parents died.”

“Sorry Teddy.” I said as I looked down at the ground in front of me.

Suddenly the grass seemed like something that could keep me entertained for hours.

“I heard all this from Harry.” Teddy explained. “Dad and Sirius told him so that he could hear about his father.”

James and I just watched Teddy. We didn’t want to say anything and interrupt what he was about to tell us. I also didn’t want to make any more of a fool of myself.

“As I’m sure you already know, when my dad was at Hogwarts he was best friends with your grandfather, the original James Potter, and Sirius Black.” Teddy said looking at James. “They were also friends with Peter Pettigrew, the little rat who later betrayed your grandparents.”

“Teddy we all know this already.” James whined.

James could be rather impatient at times. Although I’m sure I was the same. The two of us were always seen as the same person to those on the outside.

“I’m just setting the scene.” Teddy explained rolling his eyes at James’ antics. “Well I suppose you also know about their nicknames and how they came to be.”

James nodded very quickly while I just looked at Teddy. I’d heard a little bit about the Marauders but probably not nearly as much as James had.

“After James, Sirius and Peter found out that my dad was a werewolf they started learning how to become Animagi.” Teddy explained to me. “By the time they reached their fifth year they had mastered it. James was a stag and was called Prongs. Sirius was a Dog and was called Padfoot. Peter was a rat was called Wormtail. Because my dad was a werewolf they called him Moony.”

I smiled at Teddy. He seemed to really like talking about his dad.

“They had created a map that shows everything at Hogwarts.” Teddy told us. “Harry showed me the map once. It shows all the people moving around the school so you can see where everyone is at any time.”

That map could be useful. We could pull pranks without getting caught. No one would know we did it. Hogwarts would definitely be more fun if we did that.

“From what I’ve heard Sirius and James were the troublemakers of the group with Dad trying to keep them in line.” Teddy continued. “Peter just worshipped them while following behind them.”

It was only then that I realised Teddy wasn’t actually telling us a story. He just wanted to talk about his dad. Which was understandable.

“The best thing I’ve heard about the Marauders has got to be what James did.” Teddy told us looking over at James once again. “From what I heard your grandfather spent most of his time at Hogwarts chasing after your grandmother. She never liked him at first but he was persistent.”

Oh no. This wasn’t going to be good.

“Really?” James asked.

Oh no. Now that James has found out about this he’s never going to leave Gwen alone. If it worked for his grandfather he’s going to think it’s the universe making them some strange reincarnation of his grandparents.

“She hated him at first.” Teddy told James. “From what I heard anyway.”

At those words James jumped up and ran back to the castle.

“Anything else, Teddy.” I said to Teddy as I stood up to follow after James once again. “You could have told him anything else.”

“What did I do?” Teddy asked.

It was clear Teddy had no idea what he’d just done. He just stared at me as I turned around to chase after James. Hopefully I could stop him before he goes too crazy. Before I got too far away I looked over my shoulder to see Teddy still staring after me. I yelled back to him.

“You’ve just cost Gwendolen Smythe her privacy for the next seven years.”

* * *

“Please just think about it Fred.” James said to me as we attempted to sneak into Uncle Harry’s office. “It would be perfect.”

It was the middle of the night and James had convinced me to stay with his family for a few night so we could steal the map from his dad’s office. Somehow my presence was supposed to help him not get killed by Aunt Ginny when she found out he’d broken into his father’s office.

“I really don’t see why you think we have to do this.” I told my cousin.

“They were legends.” He tries to explain.

“They also all died before any of them could reach forty.” I countered.

James just stared at me. We had reached the door to Uncle Harry’s office. James as quickly and quietly as he could unlocked the door with the keys he had stolen the previous night.

“Besides it’s only the two of us James.” I told him once we inside the office.

“Well I was thinking.” James began to explain as he started to look across the desk.

“That’s always dangerous.” I joked looking at the shelves.

“Really funny Fred.” He said stopping what he was doing to glare at me. “So, as I was saying, I was thinking that maybe Louis and Parker can join our new Marauders group.”

“As if either of them would agree to that.” I said rolling my eyes at him. “But again, we wouldn’t be like the original ones anyway. None of us are a werewolf.”

“That’s a minor difference.” James explained as he began opening draws and searching through them. “It would only make things complicated. Without a werewolf we’ll just be four guys having fun.”

“That just sounds bad.” I laughed stopping my searching to look at him.

“Who cares.” James said before pulling an old piece of parchment out of the drawer. “Found it.”

I ran over to join him.

“I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.” James said pointing his wand at the map.

We watched as inky lines began to appear all over the parchment. Words began to appear on the front along with an image of Hogwarts

“Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs, Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers, are proud to present, The Marauder's Map.” I read out.

“Cool.” We both said at the same time.

We opened the map and began to look across it. There were small dots all over the map with names next to each of them.

“We really should get out of here.” I told James. “We can look at the map in your room.”

James sighed before folding the map and saying, “Mischief managed,” causing all the ink to fade away. We quickly ducked out of Uncle Harry’s study and made our way quietly back to James’ room.

* * *

When I got on the train at the end of the Christmas break I found Parker waiting in the compartment that we had sat in to go home. We had agreed at the start of the break to meet in the same compartment that we had sat in when going back home at the end of the term so that was exactly where I had gone. Who knew where both James and Louis were but they were not here.

“Hey Fred.” Parker said with a smile.

“Hey Parker.” I responded as I began to haul my trunk onto the overhead storage space.

As I finally got my trunk into its place I heard the compartment door slide open as Louis joined us in the compartment.

“Hi Fred, Parker.” Louis greeted when he opened the door.

“Hey Louis.” I said as he sat down beside Parker. “Be careful.” I told them both as I looked across the compartment at them. I knew it was probably a good idea to warn them about James. “James has gone a little crazy.”

“Oh no.” Parker muttered so softly that I could barely hear him.

“How crazy does he have to go for you to think he’s crazy?” Louis asked his eyes widening.

I didn’t get a chance to answer before the door flew open to reveal James.

“Oh no.” Louis said copying Parker’s statement from before.

There was a glint in James’ eyes that meant no good. James may be my best friend. And I may be trouble. But there was no way I was about to get in the way of this crazy James.

“Louis, you know about my Grandpa James right?” James asked his mouth moving so quickly I struggled to make out what he was saying.

“Yeah.” Louis responded slowly, looking between me and James hoping I would be able to help him.

“So you know about the Marauders?” James asked.

“James our whole family knows about the Marauders.” Louis said rolling his eyes.

“I don’t know about the Marauders.” Parker piped up.

I looked over at him. James was on his crazy streak and I was too scared to interrupt crazy James.

“Well, I bet you didn’t know that we are forming our own version of the Marauders.” James said.

The idiot still hadn’t sat down. He was standing in the door bouncing like a moron.

“James, sit.” I told him. “And maybe you should explain who the Marauders are for Parker.”

My overly excited cousin stopped bouncing and sat down beside me.

“What exactly is the purpose of that?” Louis asked.

Louis, Louis, Louis. Always trying to be reasonable. Did he not realise there was no point in that? This was James he was talking to. There is never any purpose in his thoughts.

“Just for fun.” James said. “I’m like Prongs, my grandfather, the original James Potter. And Gwendolen will be my Lily.”

“What happened?” Louis asked staring at me.

“Teddy told us more about the Marauders.” I explained to him. “It seems that James here thinks that himself and Gwen are the reincarnation of his grandparents and they are going to live out that exact love story.”

“I do not.” James protested.

We both glared at him.

“Okay fine, maybe a little.” He admitted.

“Someone explain.” Parker yelled at us.

“James grandfather and his friends had this group when they were at Hogwarts called the Marauders.” I said quickly before James could say anything more idiotic. “They caused trouble all through the school. James is named after two of them, James Potter, his grandfather, and his father’s godfather, Sirius Black. That’s part of why Professor McGonagall looked like she was going to fall out of her seat during the sorting in our first year.”

“What’s the other reason?” Parker asked catching the way I’d talked about McGonagall.

“Oh, I’m named after my uncle Fred.” I explained. “Him and my dad use to cause all sorts of trouble when they were at Hogwarts.”

“Okay.” Parker finally said after processing everything I’d explained.

We sat in silence for a moment. It wasn’t long as James took the opportunity as one to keep going.

“So, as I was saying.” James jumped in. “I’m like my grandfather. Fred, you’re like Sirius. Louis, you’re like Remus. And Parker, sorry, but you’re like Peter.”

“What?” Louis asked.

I wasn’t even trying to understand James’ antics at this point. Yet, for some reason, Louis still was. Parker was just staring in confusion still not completely understanding what was going on. Fair enough. James was impossible to understand sometimes. 

“You’re going to keep us out of trouble.” James told Louis.

At this I laughed. We didn’t have to be next generation marauders for that. Louis was going to be forced into that job regardless of whether or not James’ hairbrained idea works.

“Yeah, okay, whatever.” Louis agreed.

* * *

We had met up with the girls after we got off the train. The six of us sat in one carriage. It was nice to be back with the girls again. It meant that James calmed down for a start which was definitely what we needed.

“Doll, have you heard about my grandparents?” James asked Gwen.

Oh no. There was no good ending for this. James you are an idiot.

“Why would I want to know about your grandparents Potter?” Gwen asked him in response.

Quit while you’re ahead James.

“My grandfather, James Potter, was in love with this pretty girl from the first time he met her.” James explained to Gwen.

Please stop this James.

“He spent years asking her out and getting rejected.” James continued. “Then after many years of rejection she finally agreed to go out with him. Then they got married and had my dad.”

“Then died at twenty-one.” Molly said as deadpan as she could manage.

Oh how grateful I am for you right now dear cousin.

“How about no.” Gwen said. “Besides we’re only twelve, well, I am anyway. Aren’t you still eleven?”

“Yes, he is.” I told her. “Now please ignore him.”

“He was hit over the head during the break and I think his mental state is a little, let’s just say, rocky right now.” Louis explained.

Louis, Parker and I sent James equally threatening glares. None of us wanted to deal with James’ stupid antics right now. I for one was starving and couldn’t wait to sit down and eat at the feast that I knew was going to be there for us.

Once we were out of the carriages and walking up to the castle I looked over at Louis. The two of us made eye contact before each grabbing one of James’ arms and holding him back. We had to keep him away from Gwen. For now anyway. There was something with this boy that was making him go crazy.

“We will agree to be a part of your next generation Marauders on one condition.” Louis explained to James.

James just looked between us. I don’t think he realised Louis and I could be on the same side of any argument. He didn’t realise that Parker was finally realising how much trouble James could actually be.

“What is it?” James asked clearly irritated by our questioning.

“Leave Gwen alone.” I told him. “At least for a couple of years. Then you can come back with your whole grandparents reincarnated thing.”

He just stared at us. It’s clear he was contemplating following our advice.

“Fine, I’ll leave her alone.” James said and he turned around to begin to walk off however before he had started moving he said, “until we can go to Hogsmeade” and then bolted to castle.

“James.” Both we all screamed as we chased after him.

James Sirius Potter was going to be the death of us all.


	3. Molly

Gwen and I were sitting in the compartment. It was strange with it just being the two of us. The boys were off doing something, I was sure of that much, but it was clear that they didn’t want us involved.

Well at least I had some time to talk to Gwen about what I was thinking over the holidays. It would all be fun of course. We could never do anything intentionally nasty to one another. Even though we have only known one another such a short time.

“Hey Gwen, over the break I was thinking.” I said pausing after saying that.

When she didn’t say anything, just stared at me strangely, I realised I wasn’t talking to someone from my family. No one was going to quip, “well that’s dangerous” as it was clearly something only my family did on a regular basis.

“I was thinking that maybe we could come up with some friendship rules.” I said recomposing myself. “Just as a kind of joke in a way. But it could be nice to help strengthen our friendship.”

“Sure, could be fun.” Gwen responded smiling softly.

I began to rummage around in the small bag I’d brought. In there I knew I had the muggle pen my mum had given me along with some parchment.

“Leave the title blank for now.” Gwen told me. “Maybe while we’re doing this we’ll come up with a great title that we can use.”

“Rule one, always check one another’s appearances to make sure we both look good.” I explained to Gwen.

“How about we go with don’t let her look like a hot mess.” Gwen suggested. “Same meaning, only less words and I think it sounds a bit cooler.”

I just stared at her. Was she going to do this for all my ideas? I quickly began writing down what she had said.

“Always support her choices.” Gwen said. “But then again, there should always be one hundred percent honesty.”

The way she was coming up with these was as though she expected it to be published or something.

“Gwen, why are saying them like this?” I asked her after writing down the first three she had just said.

“Like what?” She asked me.

I showed her the parchment. She read through them.

  1. _Don’t let her look like a hot mess_
  2. _Always support her choices_
  3. _One hundred percent honesty_



“I suppose I’m thinking of it like a mantra sort of way.” She admitted. “Something that you can repeat in your head when thinking about one another.”

I just stared at her. How was she like this? There was no way was someone as young as we were could be as wise as this. Except, it seemed like she was.

“Obviously one very important one is that secrets are secret.” She continued.

I just looked at her before continuing to write what she had said. I was struggling to work out where this all came from. I was the one who had suggest we write a list of rules and yet she seemed to have them all planned out.

“Of course we’ll only share good photos of one another.” I told her.

She smiled. It seemed like that was one she hadn’t thought of. But one she supported either way. I continued writing.

“We must share all gossip.” Gwen told me not longer acting wise beyond her years.

“And always respect who the other is crushing on.” I added.

“Respect her crush.” She rephrased.

“I like it so much better when you rephrase it.” I admitted. “Why do you have to be like this?”

“Like what?” She asked again.

I just smiled at her writing down what we had agreed on so far.

  1. _Don’t let her look like a hot mess_
  2. _Always support her choices_
  3. _One hundred percent honesty_
  4. _Secrets are secret_
  5. _Only share good photos_
  6. _Share all gossip_
  7. _Respect her crush_



I smiled down at the list once I’d finished writing before handing it to Gwen. She looked over the list before handing it back to me.

“We can finish it in the dorm tonight.” She told me. “I think we should have nine rules.”

“Why nine?” I asked not quite sure where that came from.

“Well there’s four letters in Gwen and five letters in Molly, therefore, nine rules.” She explained. “That is, unless you want to go with Gwendolen, but that means there will need to be fourteen rules using the same method.”

“No, I’d rather go with nine.” I admitted.

I wasn’t sure what we were going to do for the final two let alone another five after that. Realising how close we were getting to school we got up and quickly got changed before joining the boys in their carriage up to the castle.

* * *

We sat on my bed in our dorm. Together Gwen and I had placed as many spells as we knew around the bed in order to prevent our dorm mates Kendall Wood and Juliet Clarke from listening in on our conversation. From the first term alone we had learnt that both of those girls were incredibly nosey and wanted nothing more than to find out our business.

“So, what else do you want to add to the girl code.” Gwen asked to me.

“The girl code?” I asked her not sure where she came up with that name.

“Yeah, I figured that could work as a name for it.” She said sheepishly. “I mean we could be in a situation and just call girl code on one another. To get them to share something. I don’t know. It was just an idea. Because it’s just us, not any of the guys.”

I smiled at her pulling out the parchment from where I’d put it away. I quickly wrote the title ‘ _Gwen and Molly’s Girl Code_ ’ on the top of the parchment, above the first rule.

“Now, we need rules eight and nine.” She said as I handed her the parchment so she could go through the list again.

“Well I don’t really want you dating any of my cousins.” I told her. “Just in case there’s a messy break up and you hate them. I want you to be able to come to our family gatherings after we’ve finished Hogwarts. I know they’ll all love you.”

“So you want the rule to be don’t date any of the Weasley and Potter group?” She asked clearly not understanding the rule.

“Well, yeah.” I told her.

“What if we wrote something about not dating any relatives?” Gwen suggested. “Because I don’t overly want you dating my little brother or my cousin when they come to Hogwarts.”

I nodded in response, liking what she was thinking. She did have a fair point. I began to write down the rule.

“Wait, that means there’s only one guy in our year and house that I can date.” She said realising what I’d just done.

“Well I’m in the same situation.” I admitted.

“Poor Parker.” Gwen laughed.

She shoved me playfully. The two of us began laughing. It was strange to think about us dating the guys in our year in the future. It seemed so far off.

“I feel like we need something about exs.” I told her. “For the future.”

“Hate them all.” She said bluntly.

I just stared at her. “Don’t you think that maybe that’s just a little bit extreme? What if we were friends with them before?”

“Hate all her exs, if she wants you to.” Gwen changed it too. “Does that sound better?”

“Much.” I admitted with a laugh.

I quickly jotted down the last rule onto the parchment.

“What do you think?” I said handing her the finished list.

_Gwen and Molly’s Girl Code_

  1. _Don’t let her look like a hot mess_
  2. _Always support her choices_
  3. _One hundred percent honesty_
  4. _Secrets are secret_
  5. _Only share good photos_
  6. _Share all gossip_
  7. _Respect her crush_
  8. _Don’t date her relatives_
  9. _Hate all her exs, if she wants you to_



“Looks perfect.” She said with a smile.

She placed the parchment down on the bed and hugged me. We had just confirmed our friendship. So long as we stuck to these rules I could tell we were going to be friends forever.

* * *

For the next year things were rather calm. The only problem we ever had as a group was rather minor however on going. James appeared to be becoming more infatuated with Gwen by the day. 

Because of this meals were always an ordeal. James was always trying to sit with Gwen while Fred, Louis and Parker tried to keep him away from her. Gwen and I meanwhile were stuck watching the boys, half in fear, half in amusement.

While Gwen didn’t want James and his antics to succeed, I always found it amusing when James did manage to sit down beside her as he would never actually talk to her. The only thing James would ever do was occasionally bump hands with her then stare pleadingly at Fred, Louis and Parker who would shake their heads at him.

Although one breakfast, when he succeeded at sitting next to Gwen he decided he didn’t care what his friends would say, he decided to just speak to her.

“Gwendolen Grace Smythe, will you do me the honour of accompanying me on a walk around the black lake for our first date?” He proposed in a ridiculous fashion.

“James, I think you’re about nine months too early.” Louis said to him.

Gwen and I both looked over at him. Neither of us had any idea what he was referring to. It was probably one of the boys stupid inside jokes.

“Wouldn’t want us to leave you all alone now, would you?” Parker asked him.

James just pouted at the other guys who decided they didn’t really care too much about what James did.

“So, what do you say Doll?” James asked turning back to Gwen.

“Sorry Potter, but I can’t, Girl Code.” She told him looking him dead in the eye before turning back to her breakfast.

“What’s Girl Code?” James asked her not truly understanding what Gwen meant.

Gwen just ignored him as she continued eating her breakfast.

Oh no she didn’t. She is not going to use Girl Code as a reason to reject James. Not when I know there are over a hundred other reasons for her wanting to reject him. I wanted to hear all her reasons. Besides, if she’s not going to be kind enough to explain Girl Code to him she shouldn’t get to use it to her advantage.

“What if I changed Girl Code?” I whispered in her ear.

I watched as she stopped chewing and her fork clattered to table. She turned and looked me straight in the eye as she resumed her chewing. She narrowed her eyes into a glare as they locked onto mine.

When she had finally swallowed her food she said, “You wouldn’t dare.”

I flashed her a smile knowing that even the proposal of changing Girl Code a year after we’d written it was something she would kill me for.

“No, I wouldn’t change it.” I said causing Gwen to let out a sigh of relief and pick up her fork again. “No, just make an exception.”

“An exception.” She yelled dropping her fork again before she had even had the chance to continue eating. “Molly Audrey Weasley you will not make James Potter the one exception in the entirety of Girl Code.”

She was so angry and I was loving every minute of it. I knew a smirk was forming on my face. This was even more fun than I thought it would be. 

“What’s Girl Code?” James asked again clearly confused why Girl Code seemed to have so much to do with him.

“No, don’t tell Potter about Girl Code.” Gwen whined.

It was clear by now that Gwen was not happy with me. I knew she wasn’t going to be able to be mad at me for too long so I might as well just do what I want.

“It’s a set of rules for our friendship.” I told the boys.

They all really wanted to know. James was the only one brave enough to ask about it though.

“So why can’t Gwen go out with James then?” Fred asked.

Fred was a tricky one. Sometimes he seemed to want James to succeed in his attempts to win Gwen over. Other times he was set on helping Louis and I keep James away from Gwen. I could never figure out what he actually wanted.

“Rule number eight.” Gwen said having given up at this point.

“Don’t date her relatives.” I recited.

The boys just stared at us as if it was the most ridiculous thing we could have said.

“Why would anyone come up with anything like that?” Louis asked.

“Because rule number nine.” Gwen told them.

The boys just stared at her. She really needed to stop referring to them by numbers and just tell them what the rule was.

“Hate all her exs, if she wants you to.” I explained.

“That has got to be the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.” Fred said as he began laughing.

Louis, James and Parker all joined his laughter shortly after. Clearly boys don’t understand how female friendships work. Clearly they don’t see that the way we maintain our friendships were very different to whatever stupid stuff they do.

“I’m making James the exception.” I whispered, turning to Gwen.

“You will do no such thing.” Gwen whispered back.

“But I want to see all your other reasons for rejecting him.” I explained.

“Doesn’t mean you need to give him hope that maybe I might date him.” She responded.

“He thinks you two are his grandparents reincarnated.” I responded. “His grandfather spent the whole of his time at Hogwarts trying to get his grandmother to go out with her until she finally accepted in seventh year.”

“That doesn’t mean the same thing is going to happen with us.” She said.

“What are you two whispering about?” James whispered sticking his head in between ours.

Both of us screamed as we jumped back from him. We didn’t realise he was going to get that close to us. Gwen was glaring at James. I was making James the exception to Girl Code regardless of whether or not Gwen agreed.

“My aunt and uncle on my mum’s side of the family bought me one of those bound notebooks for Christmas.” I explained to the others. “I think I’ve just found the perfect use for it.”

All five of my friends all stared at me.

“I’m going to keep a list of all the reasons Gwen rejects James.” I told them. “It will be funny for us all to look back on when they inevitably prove James right and fall in love and get married.”

“Molly I’m going to kill you.” Gwen said getting up from her seat and grabbing her bag.

I got up as quickly as I could and ran. I could hear Gwen chasing after me. I ran towards the Gryffindor tower in hopes of getting into the dorm and barring the door so I had enough time to add the exception to the parchment contain the Girl Code list.

As I continued running I heard Gwen start screaming. I looked over my shoulder to see James holding her back. He smiled at me and I continued running. It wouldn’t take Gwen too long to break out of his grasp so I had to get to the common room as quickly as possible.

When I reached the portrait I said the password as best I could as I was out of breath from running. The portrait swung open and I ran through the common room to the dorm. When I got in I levitated my trunk in front of the door in hopes that it would keep Gwen out if she had gotten out of James’ hold.

I grabbed the parchment that had the Girl Code on it and my pen. I quickly wrote ‘ _James Sirius Potter is the exception_ ’ at the bottom of the list.

With the spells that we had previously put on the parchment there was no way that was being removed. James was now the sole exception to our Girl Code. There goes her reason for not wanting to date him.


	4. Carter

“Come on Carter.” Gwen whined to me as we stood on the platform. “I want to go see Molly, Louis and Parker.”

Gwen was so annoying sometimes. Stupid older sister. Our parents had already left having had important work they needed to complete. They couldn’t even hang around to see the train off. Some parents they are. This is my first year after all. Do they care about me at all?

I felt worse for Ivy though. She got stuck with Aunt Hazel and Uncle Harold. That can’t be fun.

“Carter, we are going to get on that train, find you a compartment and then I’m going to go find my friends, understand.” Gwen told me.

I just sighed. She had a point. We were just standing on the platform for no reason at the moment. She began to walk over to the train and I followed after her. We climbed aboard and at the sight of the first empty compartment Gwen stopped.

“You’ll be fine here?” She asked me.

I just nodded. Together we lifted my trunk up to store it away before I turned back to face her.

“Mum and dad are proud of you.” She told me before placing a kiss on my forehead. “I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks Gwen.” I muttered.

“Buck up, you’re going to Hogwarts.” She said shoving my shoulder.

“Go, have fun with your friends.” I told her.

“Don’t scare people away from this compartment with your rotten attitude.” She told me as she walked off in search of her friends.

I let out another sigh, sat down and pulled out a book. What else was I meant to do? Stare out the window at the people on the platform, none of which knew who I was or cared about me.

“Can I join you?” I heard a girl ask from the doorway of the compartment.

“I don’t see why not.” I said indicating to the entire empty seat.

She smiled at me before turning to put her trunk away.

“I’m Milla Dursley.” She said putting out her hand for me to shake.

“Carter Smythe.” I said as I took her hand.

“This world is so amazing.” She said as she looked around. “I never knew this platform existed. Dad told me he’d known for years. His cousin was a wizard. Although I don’t know anything else about him. The two of them never really liked one another.”

“You’re rambling.” I told the girl.

I had learnt years ago that the only way to deal with someone’s ramblings was to let them know that they were in fact rambling. Well, that method always worked with my cousin any way.

“Oh, I’m so sorry.” Milla said looking down at her hands which were resting in her lap.

“So I take it you’re a muggleborn then?” I asked her.

“Yes, I am.” She admitted looking down at her feet.

“There’s nothing wrong with that.” I told her hoping she wouldn’t think I was judging her. “I’m a halfblood. My dad’s a muggle. Mum’s a witch.”

“So you grew up with magic then?” She asked.

Milla seemed so fascinated by everything. I suppose I would be too if this was the first time I was really experiencing magic.

“Sort of.” I told her. “I suppose you heard about the Wizarding War that occurred nineteen years ago.”

She nodded in response. It was clear she didn’t want to start rambling again. She wanted to hear what I had to say. This was something I had never experienced. No one ever really cared what I had to say.

“Well when Mum heard there was going to be a war her and her sister, my Aunt Hazel, left the wizarding world and went to live in the muggle world.” I explained. “They felt safer there. They didn’t use their magic so much so they got used to doing things the muggle way that they both prefer to do things like that. So magic isn’t used so much.”

“I think once I’ve learnt magic I won’t ever be able to give it up.” Milla told me.

Then we heard the door to the compartment open. There stood a boy who seemed terrified. He looked lonely.

“Do you mind if I join you?” He asked.

“Not at all.” Milla said before I could speak.

Milla moved over to sit next to me and the other boy sat down and looked at us strangely. He seemed really nervous.

“I’m Milla.” Milla introduced. “This is Carter.”

The boy just watched us. He seemed nervous about introducing himself. Perhaps his family had something to do with the war. Perhaps they were on the wrong side. That wouldn’t matter with us.

“I’m Scorpius.” He said eventually.

“Well it’s lovely to meet you Scorpius.” Milla said. “Carter was just telling me about his family.”

They both looked over at me as if expecting me to start telling them all about my family.

“Oh, well, there’s my parents.” I said not really knowing where to start. “Mum’s a witch, Dad’s a muggle. Then I have two sisters. Gwen, she’s in third year this year and Ivy who’s two years younger than me.”

Milla smiled at me. Scorpius just had a blank face. There was something off about him although I couldn’t figure out what it was.

“Well I have an older sister named Katie.” Milla said. “She’s not a witch though. It’s just me.”

Out of the corner of my eye I saw a look of surprise flash over Scorpius’ face before it returned to a blank expression. He didn’t seem like he wanted to talk. Why did he sit with us if he didn’t want to talk? Why didn’t he sit somewhere else?

“Scorpius?” Milla asked looking over him.

“I’m an only child.” He said. “My grandmother live with us though. We find it easier that way.”

I watched him as he spoke. He was clearly thinking over what he was saying very carefully. He didn’t want to say anything that might give away who he was. At least, that’s what I thought he was doing.

Milla seemed adamant on getting a conversation going however Scorpius didn’t appear very open. He didn’t want to talk to anyone. I tried to keep talking to Milla but eventually she stopped trying. We all just sat there in silence.

Then the compartment door slid open.

“Just stay here.” I heard Gwen say. “Your cousins, Parker and I are trying to talk. Sit with the other first years, okay.”

“Geeze Gwen, no need to be so rude.” I said to her standing up to see who was with her.

There were two other people with Gwen. It was clear they were starting to irritate her. I had best get them away before she blows.

“Albus, Rose, this is Carter.” Gwen said. “Now play nice.”

With that Gwen walked off, probably to just go back to her friends again. She really could be awful sometimes.

I turned around in the compartment and looked at Milla and Scorpius. Milla was curious as to who was at the door while Scorpius was just looking out the window avoiding looking at anyone. I sat down beside him and motioned for Milla to come sit beside me.

The two who Gwen had brought to the compartment walked in and sat down where Milla and I had previously been sitting.

“So, as Gwen said, I’m Carter Smythe.” I said to the two who I sat across from.

“Milla Dursley.” Milla said.

A strange expression flashed across the face of the boy who we sat across from. He must recognise her name from something.

“I’m Albus Potter.” The boy said.

“Rose Granger-Weasley.” The girl said.

Scorpius wasn’t saying anything. There must be something with these two that’s making him even more closed off than before.

“You two know each other?” Milla asked to break the silence.

“We’re cousins.” Rose said before taking a closer look at Scorpius. “Hey, I think I know who you are.”

Scorpius turned to look at Rose. He was clearly unimpressed by Rose saying anything.

“Yeah, who am I then?” He asked.

“Scorpius Malfoy.” Rose said. “My Dad told me I needed to beat you in every test.”

“Rose, we both know Uncle Ron isn’t exactly the most forgiving person.” Albus said to Rose.

The two cousins continued arguing but I didn’t watch. I was more worried about Scorpius. He didn’t seem to like Rose and Albus. It must be some family thing.

“Scorpius are you alright?” I asked him.

“I’m fine.” He muttered.

I didn’t want to press him any further. It appeared as though he was in a bad mood and I didn’t want him to hate me before we even got to Hogwarts.

“So what house do you think you’ll be in?” Rose asked.

“Well my Mum was in Ravenclaw.” I told Rose. “And Gwen is in Gryffindor. But I’m not really like either of them. So I’m not really sure.”

“I don’t really know.” Milla said. “I don’t much about any of the houses. I think I’d be happy with anything so long as I can make friends.”

“Well both my parents were in Gryffindor.” Rose said. “And most of my cousins are there. So I’ll probably be in Gryffindor.”

“Or Ravenclaw.” Albus said. “You’re a complete swot Rose.”

“Shut it Al.” Rose said to him.

“Well I’m the same as Rose, both my parents and my brother are Gryffindor.” Albus said. “So are most of my cousins.”

“My whole family’s in Slytherin.” Scorpius muttered.

“Dad told me there’s nothing wrong with Slytherin.” Albus responded. “In fact, I’m named after a Slytherin.”

Scorpius just stared at Albus. Obviously he didn’t believe him.

“Who?” Scorpius said.

“Severus Snape.” Albus responded. “Dad said he was the bravest man he ever knew.”

“He was my father’s godfather.” Scorpius admitted.

“Yeah.” Albus admitted.

The two of them smiled at one another briefly before returning to their previous silence. Throughout the rest of the train ride Rose and Milla talked to each other. Albus, Scorpius and I spoke a little. Not as much as the girls but still. It wasn’t too bad. Hopefully they’ll become more comfortable with one another as time goes on.

* * *

Getting from the train station to the school was exactly as Gwen had told me. The view from the boats was absolutely beautiful. The Great Hall was also amazing when we walked in.

I scanned around the hall for Gwen who smiled at me when I caught her eye. She could be a right royal pain sometimes but she was still my big sister and I loved her.

“When I call out your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted.” The teacher, who I’m pretty sure Albus said was Professor Longbottom, told the first years. He was indicating to a dirty looking old hate that sat on a stool beside him.

I looked between my friends. We were all pretty different. I wouldn’t be surprised if we all got separated. I wouldn’t want that of course but still, I knew it was a possibility.

“Dursley, Milla.” Was the first one of our group to be called.

We watched as she slowly walked up to the stool. We could tell she was nervous. I knew her biggest fear was being alone. I sent her a smile. She looked over at our group and relaxed. It wasn’t long after that that the hate yelled out, “GRYFFINDOR” and the table that I’d seen Gwen at burst into applause. She got off the stool and headed over to the table. She seemed happy and that was all I could have hoped for.

The next from our group was “Granger-Weasley, Rose” who bounced up to the stool with a smile on her face.

There was no hint of fear on her face as she sat down on the stool. The hat was taking longer than it had with Milla to sort Rose. She kept looking between two of the tables. She had mentioned a few times that wanted to be with her family. It would be nice for them to stay together as much as possible. Family is the most important thing after all. Eventually the hat once again yelled, “GRYFFINDOR” and Rose walked over to join Milla.

At least Milla won’t have to be alone like she feared.

After Rose the next one called was “Malfoy, Scorpius.”

It was now that I realised why he had been so sceptical to tell us who he was. The whole hall went silent when his name was called. As he walked over to the stood I could hear many people around us whispering to one another. I felt bad for him. His name wasn’t his fault.

Scorpius looked terrified when the hat was placed on his head. I saw him look over at Rose and Milla. I could tell then that he too was scared of being alone, he just didn’t want people to know. The hat was on his head for a much shorter time than either Milla or Rose before it announced, “SLYTHERIN” for the whole hall to hear. Scorpius got up off the stool and headed over to the table which was applauding him.

It was confusing now. Did I want to be with Scorpius who seemed to fear being alone even though he wouldn’t tell anyone? Or did I want to be with Milla who had voiced her fear of loneliness to everyone? After all if I was with Milla I’d also be with Gwen and I wanted all my siblings to stay together.

I shook myself out of my thoughts when I heard “Potter, Albus” get called.

From what Gwen had told me about James, Albus was nothing like his older brother. James was full of arrogance and just a little bit of crazy while Albus seemed calm and humble.

The entire hall was watching with baited breath while the hat was on Albus’ head. It was taking a lot longer for him to be sorted than any of the other students so far. It was strange. After a long while of watching the hat yelled, “SLYTHERIN” earning a gasp from a majority of the hall.

“I knew it.” Was called from the Gryffindor table.

“Shut it James.” Five voices all calling in response.

I tried my hardest not to laugh as I watched Albus get down off the stool and join Scorpius. As Albus sat down beside him Scorpius relaxed. That just proved my theory. Scorpius was scared of being alone. But now he wasn’t. He and Albus had one another.

It was only now that all my friends had been sorted that I began to grow nervous. I was scared I wasn’t going to up with any of them. I knew that either way I’d be able to make my own friends but I still felt like I wanted to be with those I’d met on the train.

“Smythe, Carter.” I heard the professor call.

I walked over to the stool and sat down. Looking out over the hall my eyes found Scorpius and Albus before moving over to see Milla and Rose.

“Not you’re family I see.” A voice said in my ear.

At the sound of the voice I nearly jumped. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Gwen laughing at me. She knew exactly what had happened.

“A yearning to prove yourself.” The voice continued. “Better be SLYTHERIN.”

I smiled before getting down off the stool and walking over to join Albus and Scorpius. Well, at least I had friends. I sat across from both of them.

“Well, we survived.” I said to them.

A small burst of laughter came from the two boys. Scorpius had relaxed so much more since the train ride. It was clear now that he was mostly just worried about how other would view him and if he would be able to make any friends with who his family was.

“It seems that family isn’t everything.” Albus said.

It was clear that for our group that was more true than I had ever realised it could be.

We turned to listen to the headmistress who gave a speech that none of us really paid attention to. Then the feast appeared in front of us and we began to serve our food and talk amongst ourselves once again. Now that Scorpius had relaxed a bit he seemed more open to talking about himself allowing both Albus and I to get to know him better.

“Wait until my father hears about who I’m friends with.” Scorpius said trying not to laugh.

“I’m just worried what Uncle Ron will do if Rose tells him she even spoke to you.” Albus told Scorpius. “If he finds out you two are kind of friends, well let’s just say, I think your life would be significantly shortened.”

We both stared at Albus.

“Man, your family seems crazy.” I told Albus.

“It’s life.” Albus said. “I have nine cousins and two siblings. Then there’s my dad’s godson whose parents were killed in the war. And of course you can’t forget the kids of our parent’s close friends. So that’s seventeen kids.”

“I didn’t realise your family was that big.” Scorpius said. “I always knew there were a lot of Weasleys. Hell, Father would never shut up about how irritating that lot was at school. But I never realised there were that many of you.”

“Well Mum had six siblings.” Albus told him. “One never had any kids and one of them died in the war. So five out of seven Weasleys had children.”

“And to think my family is only me and my cousin Adeline.” Scorpius said. “That’s not to say we aren’t just as crazy as your lot. We’re just a lot smaller. Occasion my grandmother’s sister, Andromeda, comes over with her grandson, Teddy, but I don’t know him all that well.”

“Talk to him next time.” Albus told Scorpius. “He always tells us how he wishes you would talk more.”

I laughed as Scorpius stared at Albus in shock. Both their families seemed rather crazy. Mine on the other hand was probably the calmest and most subdued family you could get.

“Well I’ve got two sisters and one cousin.” I told them. “So a bit bigger than your family Scorpius. But it’s just us and our parents. None of our grandparents have anything to do with us. The muggles don’t like the witches and the magical folk don’t like the muggles.”

“Hey, my grandparents are dead.” Albus said. “On my dad’s side anyway.”

“Doesn’t your brother think that he and my sister are your grandparents reincarnated or something?” I asked Albus.

“That sounds like James.” Albus said.

“What the hell is wrong with your family, Potter?” Scorpius asked.

“Gwen described James as full of arrogance with a little crazy mixed in.” I told Scorpius.

“I’d never thought of it but that’s the perfect description.” Albus laughed. “But seriously every break he doesn’t shut up about your sister. It’s always ‘Gwendolen this’ and ‘Gwendolen that’ and ‘Gwendolen doesn’t like that so now I don’t either.’”

Both Scorpius and I burst out laughing. It was hilarious to hear about James’ obsession with Gwen. Compared to the way Gwen described his obsession it was rather amusing. Gwen just made it sound creepy.

We spent the rest of dinner laughing about our families. As we talked more about them we found out more and more that was highly amusing.

It was nice that Scorpius had made friends despite his name and family. It was good that Albus was not his parents or his brother.

I could tell that this friendship was going to be one that lasted through Hogwarts.


	5. Milla

_Hi Dad,_

_You were right, Hogwarts is amazing. I absolutely love being here. We got sorted into houses when we first arrived and we sleep in dorms in our houses. I’m in Gryffindor which is the house for those who are brave. I’m not really sure why I’m in this house but I’m happy._

_I made a really good friend. Her name is Rose Granger-Weasley. We are both in Gryffindor so we get to share a dorm. I also made some other friends but they are in a different house, Slytherin I think it’s called._

_One of them, Carter Smythe, helped me when I first got on the train. He said his sister, Gwen, told him about Hogwarts before he came. She’s in third year and in Gryffindor. I met her, she’s rather nice although she’s always yelling at this boy called James Potter._

_My other friends from Slytherin are Scorpius Malfoy and Albus Potter. I met them both on the train as well. Yes, Albus is the brother of the annoying boy James who irritates Carter’s sister Gwen but they are really nothing alike. Rose and Albus are cousins. She was telling me all about her cousins. She said she has ten cousins. I couldn’t imagine be a part of such a big family. It would crazy._

_Scorpius was really worried because his dad did some bad stuff during the wizarding war but it doesn’t really matter. Rose told me his dad hated muggleborns and any one in Gryffindor but he doesn’t seem to about any of that._

_Anyway, I should go. It’s getting quite late and we want to explore the castle tomorrow before classes start on Monday. I really miss you, mum and Katie._

_Love from,  
Milla_

* * *

_Dear Milla,_

_It’s lovely to hear that you are enjoying yourself. I only ever told you what my cousin mentioned but even then we were never told much as we were never really nice to him, something that I dearly regret all these years later._

_Are you certain your friend’s name is Potter? I think it is time I tell you about my cousin. His name was Harry Potter. I believe that your friend is his son. He lived with us for many years but my parents were never nice to him. He wasn’t so bad though. He was just dealt a rotten hand. Bloody kid nearly got me killed a couple of times._

_I’m pretty sure his friends were Granger and Weasley though so it would make sense that they would still be close now. Those Weasleys always were a strange bunch though. Always trying to use our muggle technology and failing._

_If my suspicions are correct you have a much larger family than you have ever realised and now that our family is connected to the wizarding world through you maybe we might be able to see more of my cousin Harry and his family._

_Enjoy the beginning of the term and tell me about your classes when they start._

_Love from,  
Dad_

* * *

“Hey, Albus.” I called out seeing his dark hair further down the hallway.

He turned around and looked at me a smile appearing on his face when he realised who had called him.

“Hey Milla.” He said. “I was wanting to speak to you actually.”

“Really?” I asked. “I wanted to talk to you as well.”

We decided to head outside to sit out on the grounds. It was such a nice day and we really should take advantage of the weather while it’s still nice. It isn’t going to be like this for much longer. Winter was growing closer and it would start getting colder meaning we wouldn’t be able to sit outside anymore.

“So, I sent a letter to my dad.” I began to explain. “I told him that I got sorted into Gryffindor and what the house is. I told about my friends, so you, Rose, Carter and Scorpius. I also told him about how much James annoys Gwen. Then he wrote me back and told me that he thinks your dad is his cousin.”

“That’s the same thing I wanted to talk about.” Albus said with a laugh. “I wrote to my dad and told him about all my friends and he told me about his cousin, Dudley.”

“That would be my dad.” I said. “Should we go get James? I can grab him from the common room, if he’s there of course. He might want to know about this. After all we are family. It’s going to be so cool having a bigger family. Although from what Rose has told me your family is rather crazy.”

“Milla.” He said. “Let’s go find James.”

I felt myself flush bright pink. I was rambling again. This happens far too much. I really need to get it under control.

We walked through the hallway heading towards Gryffindor Tower. I was really hoping James was in the common room. If he wasn’t I’d have to ask one of his friends. I’d be okay with asking Gwen, she’s nice enough. But if Gwen was there surely James wouldn’t be too far behind.

I could always ask Gwen’s friend. I think she’s a Weasley. She has the right colour hair for it. Although Rose said the two boys who hang out with James are Weasleys and one of them is blonde and the other has dark hair and is a lot more tanned than all the other Weasleys.

Perhaps one of them will be hanging around in the common room and I’ll be able to ask where James is. But what if they don’t want to talk to me. Then I’ll just seem stupid. I don’t want them to think I’m stupid. Especially because I might be seeing a lot more of them. What with me being related to the Potters.

When we reached the portrait I said the password and entered the common room. Albus decided to wait outside not wanting anyone to hate me before classes even started for bringing a Slytherin into the common room.

Thankfully when I got into the common room I saw James sitting on one of the couches. No nightmare trying to track him down. I didn’t have to speak to anyone else. Yay.

“James, could you come with me?” I asked him.

He just looked at me confused as to why I was asking him that.

“What is it?” He asked.

“Albus is waiting outside.” I tried. “We need to show you something.”

James just rolled his eyes before getting up and following me out of the common room to where Albus was waiting for us.

“This better be good.” He said once the portrait has closed.

“Our dads are cousins.” I said not knowing how else to say anything.

“You sure about that?” James asked. “Dad said his cousin is a muggle.”

“I’m a muggleborn.” I said rolling my eyes.

James just stared at me. I think he must have been in shock. After all it isn’t everyday you find out you have a second cousin you’d never met before. I mean, I read through the letter from Dad loads of times trying to wrap my head around the fact that I might be related to James and Albus.

“Great.” James said. “Are we done here?”

Albus just stared at his brother. I think he was a little annoyed at James. It certainly seemed like he was.

“Go annoy Gwen some more.” Albus told James.

James smiled at us before heading back into the common room.

“Sorry about him.” Albus told me.

“No problem.” I said.

We decided to find the others. They should know about this. Especially Rose.

* * *

_Hi Dad,_

_I spoke to James and Albus. Albus told me that he’d sent a letter to his dad saying the same sort of thing, about his house and his friends, then his dad wrote back and told him about you._

_So will we really spend more time with their family? Will I get to see them more? Oh please say yes. I’ve always wanted to be part of a big family._

_Rose has also told me about all their other friends who are really close with the family. I met a couple of them. Some of them are at Hogwarts, others are a lot younger. They are all really lovely. Maybe we can join some of their big family things. It would be so much fun._

_Albus and Rose said it would be great if I could join them. We would get to see all the other kids in the family. Albus mentioned that Katie could talk to some of the older cousins as well. If she wanted to of course. You’d also get a chance to get to know your cousin again._

_Oh please let us go see the Potters and Weasleys. Please._

_Love from,  
Milla_

* * *

_Dear Milla,_

_If you would allow me the extended use of your owl I will attempt to send a letter to Harry asking if he would consider coming over for dinner one night when you come home for the holidays. However I’m not sure how he would react to that as I haven’t spoken to him since we went into hiding._

_I’m still trying to figure out how to tell Mum and Dad about you being a witch. I haven’t mentioned this to you before but they always hated Harry for being different. Mum hated her sister for the same reason when they were growing up._

_My biggest fear, sweetheart, is that they start calling you a freak like they did to Harry and Harry’s parents. I promise that although I may have thought that growing up due to Mum and Dad placing their views on to me, I have grown out of it, even Harry could tell you that. I didn’t mention to you that he saved my life once._

_If Mum and Dad decide that they will also call you a freak then I shall see it right to distance ourselves from them until they can learn to accept you._

_I want you to understand that you are special Milla. We would never be mad at you for who you are because it’s not something you can control._

_Love from,  
Dad_

* * *

We were all sitting out on the grass. I loved being outside. It was always so much nicer. The air, the smell, the sounds. I just loved it.

“Milla, are you alright?” Scorpius asked.

I must have been staring distantly at the grounds. I do that far too much. It must make all my friends think I’m crazy. Oh well. Guess they’ll either put up with it or get rid of me.

“Sorry, I was just thinking.” I told them. “I got another letter from my dad today.”

I pulled the letter out of my pocket. I liked carrying Dad’s most recent letter on me. It made me feel like I wasn’t that far from home. It connected me to him.

“What did he say?” Albus asked.

“He wants to borrow my owl to send a letter to your dad.” I explained. “He said he’ll try to figure out how to do that properly. I laughed when I read that. Dad isn’t the sort of person who you’d except to be sending owl post.”

“Why does he want to owl Albus’ dad?” Carter asked.

I looked at him shocked. I thought Albus had told the guys. I had certainly told Rose. She was over the moon. She was planning all the things we were going to do if I joined them at their family gatherings.

“You didn’t tell them?” I whined hitting Albus with the book I had on me.

“I forgot?” Albus said like a question.

“Albus Severus Potter, how dare you forget something as important as family.” Rose yelled at him taking my book and continuing to hit him with it.

“Merlin Rose, ow, calm down.” Albus told her grabbing the book from her hand and giving it back to me. “One might think I forgot you were my cousin.”

I placed the book on the other side of me so Rose could hopefully not reach it again. Rose just glared at Albus. I could see the other guys trying not to laugh. I could tell I certainly wasn’t helping. I was nearly crying with laughter.

“Albus’ dad and mine are cousins.” I told the boys.

They looked at me, then at Albus. While their gazes flicked between the two of us no one said anything.

“So how come you didn’t know each other then?” Carter asked.

“My grandparents hated the Wizarding World and Harry.” I told them.

“After they all went into hiding during the war due to being related to Dad they stopped speaking to him.” Albus explained. “Then once the war was over neither side made any contact with the other.”

“So you’re like what, cousins?” Scorpius asked.

“Second cousins.” Both Albus and I said at the same time.

We smiled at one another before turning back to our friends.

“Dad is trying to see if your family wanted to come over to our place for dinner one night once we’re on holidays.” I told Albus having realised I never explained why Dad was trying to contact his dad.

“That’s months away though.” Albus said.

“It might take months for our dad’s to sort out whatever residual hatred they have towards one another.” I joked.

We all laughed. Clearly it was amusing to hear about grown ups fighting among one another. I’m sure there were many stories about when they were younger and arguing but those didn’t seem as amusing as the possibility of them doing it as adults.

“A couple months will be nothing compared to how long it will take if we ever want Scorpius to join us at anything.” Albus said to the group. “What was it your dad said again Rose?”

“So that’s little Scorpius.” Rose recited having remembered her dad’s words due to the amusement they had caused her. “Make sure you beat him in every test, Rosie. Thank God you inherited you mother’s brains.”

The entire group burst into laughter again.

“You dad seems like a piece of work.” Carter said.

“He’s just a bit stubborn.” Rose defended.

“A bit?” Albus asked. “Rose, don’t try to soften it. Scorpius, he’s probably going to hate your great-grandkids because of what happened with him and your dad.”

Scorpius paled. It seemed whatever hatred was between Dad and Harry wasn’t going to be nearly as bad as whatever hatred was between Rose and Scorpius’ dads.

“We can just all go to your place Scorpius.” I suggested. “Rose can say she’s coming to see me. I’m sure Dad will go with it if I explain it to him. It would be weird at my place with Katie. She still seems a little funny with this whole ‘being a witch’ thing. It might be too much to bring my magical friends home.”

“No, you can’t do that.” Scorpius told me. “My grandmother won’t be happy with that. I’m pretty sure she still holds some of the old pureblood beliefs.”

I just looked confused at Scorpius. I had no idea what he was talking about. It didn’t make any sense.

“Some of the old pureblood families don’t like people who aren’t of magical descent.” Rose explained.

“Look, she doesn’t even really like Mum anymore.” Scorpius said. “Thinks I’ve been polluted by being led to believe that everyone is equal. She was worse when Grandpa was still alive though.”

We all kinda look defeated.

“Wait, Milla, if your sister isn’t totally on board with you being a witch what’s going to happen when your magical relatives just show up?” Albus asked me.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.” I said only just realising the problem.


	6. Gwendolen

“James Sirius Potter I am going to kill you.” I screamed as I stormed into the boys dorm on the first morning after the Christmas break.

Upon waking up that morning I had discovered that overnight my hair had been charmed to act as a giant mood ring. So obviously right now it was bright red. Not Weasley red like Molly’s hair, that might have actually looked alright, but as flaming red as robes.

“What have I done this time?” James asked me having only woken up to the sound of my screaming.

All four boys in the dorm were staring at me. While Louis was staring at my hair the other three were all looking me up and down. It was then that I realised in my anger I’d stormed out of my dorm still in my pyjamas. Oh how I could kill James Potter.

Louis, being the lovely friend he is, tossed me the jumper that was on the floor beside his bed. As quickly, and with as little movement as possible for fear I expose myself any more than I already had, I put it on before I continued my screaming.

“How dare you do this.” I screamed at James. “What on earth would possess you to think this was amusing?”

“It wasn’t James.” Fred said to me. “As much as he loves the show you’ve given him this morning he wouldn’t have messed with your hair. He loves it too much.”

I shot both Fred and James a glare.

“You’re all idiots.” I said before turning and walking out of their dorm.

I needed to get this sorted before I went down to the Great Hall for breakfast. No doubt Carter would find it the most amusing thing and write letters to everyone we know about it.

I walked up the stairs back to my dorm. Hopefully Molly can help me fix this mess.

“You didn’t see her face as she left.” I heard one of my dorm mates, Kendall Wood, say as I reached the door to my dorm.

In my anger I hadn’t shut the door properly as I’d stormed out of the dorm. Somehow that mistake had been the best thing I could have done.

I felt a smirk come across my face.

“I saw her leave the bathroom.” Kendall continued. “The ends of her hair were still their normal colour but it became red rather quickly.”

“What if she finds out it wasn’t the boys?” The final girl in the dorm, Juliet Clarke, asked Kendall. “I mean, how would they have gotten the potion into her tea? She only ever makes it in the dorm and drinks it in her bed.”

Those poor, stupid fools. We all knew Molly slept in on weekends. We also all knew that she silenced her bed so she wouldn’t be woken up by anyone making a lot of noise.

They thought they were safe. They thought I was screaming at the boys. Those poor, stupid fools.

I didn’t go back into the dorm. There was no way I was letting them know I’d overheard them. I retraced my steps back to the boys dorm.

“Look, I’m sorry.” I said as I once again slammed open the door to the boys dorm room. “It was wrong of me to assume you did this.”

I grabbed a lock of my hair to indicate what I meant. I noticed then that it was black. I hoped the boys knew that meant trouble.

“Oh no.” Fred said looking at me. “Black hair, that can’t be good.”

“I’m not plotting to destroy you.” I said as I sat down next to Louis on the edge of his bed. “I know now that it wasn’t you who did this. And I am very sorry for assuming that you did.”

“Who did it?” Louis asked me.

“Kendall and Juliet.” I told them. “They thought I’d be yelling at you much longer than I was. I overheard them talking when I went back to the dorm. Those poor, stupid fools.”

I smiled at James and Fred. I knew that they would help me get the girls back. They were always up for a prank.

“Gwen, as much as I love you, could you please keep it down.” Parker said to me. “Some of us need more than three hours sleep to function like a normal person.”

“Sorry Parker.” I said with a smile. “Louis can I have some parchment?”

Louis handed me some parchment and I quill and I quickly jotted down all the spells I knew Molly used around her bed at night.

“Give these ago.” I said handing the parchment to Parker when I was done. “Molly uses them to block out Kendall and Juliet. Hopefully it will work on these idiots too.”

I gave him a peck on the cheek before walking over to where Louis had moved to sit with his cousins.

“I want to lull them into a false sense of security.” I told the boys. “So you gotta let me hex you before we go to breakfast.”

“But Doll, your hexes are always the worst.” James whined.

“Well Potter, if you would stop being such a prick then I’d stop hexing you.” I smirked.

I’m not sure if it was a mutual understanding or if he had just accepted it at this point. Although I may have mentioned it to him before. He no longer reacted to me calling him by his last name as I’d told him I would do that as long as he continued to call me Doll. The nickname, or pet name, or whatever he wanted to call it, was both pointless and stupid. Yet, for some reason he seemed to think it was affectionate. For that, and many other reasons, I wanted bash his head in.

“She’s got you there.” Louis told his cousin.

James just groaned and flopped back down on his bed. I let out a laugh.

* * *

I was not happy. I most certainly did not want to go to breakfast right now. We hadn’t found a way to fix my hair so currently I was heading down to the Great Hall with a head of white locks. White. Seriously. Couldn’t have had any other colour? I looked like Carter’s friend Scorpius.

I mean I knew I was scared to be seen by other people like this but I didn’t need everyone knowing that. James had offered me a hat. That wouldn’t have done much good. I would have just looked even more ridiculous.

“You look fine.” Louis said as he put his arm over my shoulders.

“I look bloody ridiculous.” I told him seriously.

The others were all walking ahead of us. I really didn’t want to go into the Great Hall. Not right now. Not with my hair looking like this.

“Gwendolen, darling, I think you look absolutely stunning.” James turned around to face me and Louis.

“Thank you for that assessment Potter.” I told him feeling my hair change colour again. “However your opinion gives me no sense of validation what so ever.”

James stopped dead in his tracks seeing my hair change again. He’d been walking backwards to face me and see my reaction.

“What colour now?” I asked having tied it up not wanting to see the colour.

Molly, Fred and Parker all turned around having heard my comment. They all wanted to see the new colour of my hair. Molly pulled out her notebook, the one she was using to record the reasons I rejected James, having decided to use the back of it to note down all the different colours of my hair and what emotion they correlated to.

“Dark red.” Louis said.

“I think it’s more of a maroon.” Molly said looking at it. “See the shades of brown.”

I grabbed a lock of hair in the ponytail and looked at it.

“Yeah, maroon.” I muttered.

“And how are you feeling, Gwen?” Molly asked in a condescending manner.

Oh I could strangle her right now.

“How do you think I’m feeling, Molly?” I asked through gritted teeth.

“Irritable.” Molly stated. “Annoyed, let’s put.”

“I think maroon will be a pretty common colour when James is around Gwen.” Fred joked.

James just pouted at Fred’s comment. We all continued walking to the Great Hall. I could feel the colour changing again but I really didn’t want to talk about it.

“Gwen, calm down.” Louis told me. “I get that you’re angry but everyone in the school is going to know if you don’t calm down.”

I began to take deep breaths in and out. Slowly I could feel my hair changing.

“Hey, your hair’s back to normal.” Parker told me.

The others had stopped again to wait for me and Louis while he calmed me down.

“What?” I asked confused.

Again, I grabbed a lock of hair and looked at it. Seeing my normal brown coloured hair I let out a sigh of relief and we entered the Great Hall for breakfast.

We all sat together eating and laughing when I heard some giggling as Kendall and Juliet entered. As I looked over at them I could feel my anger starting to bubble up again. As my anger began to rise I could feel my hair changing colour again. Damn it. It wasn’t fixed. Maybe my normal colour was just one of the emotions.

I noticed Molly pull out her notebook and jot down the recent discovery.

Kendall and Juliet saw me and burst out into laughter. All the other people eating followed their gaze to where I was sitting. People began whispering amongst themselves.

I looked over at the Slytherin table to where Carter was sitting with his friends. He made eye contact with me and sent me a smile before getting up. I watched as my younger brother, followed by his friends, made his way over to where I was sitting.

“Morning Gwen.” He said to me and he took the empty seat next to me.

“Morning Carter.” I said narrowing my eyes at him.

“You do realise you have bright red hair, don’t you?” He asked me.

Scorpius and Albus, Carter’s friends, burst out laughing at Carter’s question.

“No, dear brother.” I responded as I felt the colour of my hair change again. “I had no idea that my head looks like it’s on fire.”

“Well it doesn’t anymore.” Albus muttered.

“Yes, what does it look like now?” I asked sweetly.

“Now it looks blacker than Snape’s portrait.” Scorpius told me.

“I see.” I muttered to myself.

“That would be your que to run.” Fred told the Slytherin boys.

They all took one look at me before dashing out of the Great Hall. As they got to the entrance they ran into their other friends, Rose and Milla, who looked shocked at them but continued into the hall anyway. They me watching the boys and came over to where we were sitting.

“What’d you do to the boys?” Rose asked us.

“Carter thought it was funny to make fun of Gwen’s hair.” Parker told them.

“Malfoy and Al both commented as well.” James added.

“What’s wrong with Gwen’s hair?” Milla asked looking over at me.

I felt calm again after scaring off the boys so I could only image my hair was back to its normal colour.

Louis leaned over and whispered something to James who perked up a little at his cousin’s words.

“Doll, I know there’s still a a month to wait but would you be so kind as to accompany me on the next Hogsmeade trip?” James asked me standing up from his seat and leaning over the table.

I could feel my hair changing colour. Maroon was the most likely colour.

“No, Potter.” I told him. “You never have the decency to use my real name so I will not accompany you to Hogsmeade.”

James glanced over at Molly who flicked through her notebook for a moment before saying, “She’s fine.”

He let out a defeated sigh and sat back down.

“Wicked.” Milla said as she grabbed a piece of my hair. “I wish my hair could do that.”

“It’s a curse.” I told her. “It changes with my mood. He’s the most common cause of maroon.” I jabbed my finger in the direction of James who had started pouting.

I rolled my eyes at him.

“So are you kind of like Teddy now?” Rose asked me.

“I have no control over it, if that’s what you’re asking.” I explained. “It would be so much better if I did.”

“Who did this to you?” Molly asked me. “You never told me.”

“A potion was added to my tea last night.” I told her.

Molly nodded in response knowing what I meant. I wasn’t going to say out loud who had done it. But that comment alone told Molly who it was. There were only three people who ever saw me make and drink my tea meaning only two people could have done this as Molly knew she didn’t.

“I knew it tasted slightly off.” I said.

“I’m glad I didn’t taste it then.” Molly said with a laugh.

Last night when I had sat in bed with my tea and book I had noticed it tasted slightly different to normal. When I told Molly I offered to let her try it but she had refused saying she didn’t like peppermint tea anyway. I thought that maybe it just tasted a bit funny because I hadn’t had it for a couple weeks. Now I know the truth.

“One taste would have hardly given you an effect that was this long lasting.” I told her.

The others just laughed.

“Come on, maybe if we go see Slughorn now he might be able to work out what potion they used and get me an antidote before classes start tomorrow.” I said getting up from my seat.

All my friends stared at me, none of them getting up. Wow, some friends I have.

“Molly?” I asked my best friend.

“Fine.” She sighed getting up and joining me.

Together we walked out of the Great Hall and down towards the dungeons.

* * *

So Slughorn was able to fix my hair. Now it was back to its normal dark brown. There was one thing that he hadn’t considered though.

Neither Kendall Wood or Juliet Clarke was good at potions. They were both nearly failing the subject. Which had meant when they brewed the potion they had used on me they hadn’t done it correctly.

So now, I was stuck with a stupid side effect of that stinking potion.

Slughorn said if it didn’t wear off within twenty-four hours of when I’d consumed the original potion it was most likely going to be permanent.

Just great.

If my eyes don’t remain their normal ordinary brown after tonight they were going to be a freaking mood ring for the rest of my life. There goes any ability to do anything deceptive, ever. I was never going to be able to hide my emotions from anyone. Just what I wanted in life.

“Gwen, are you alright?” Molly asked me as our group sat on the couches in the common room.

“Just peachy.” I responded.

They all knew I wasn’t exactly happy with what I’d been told. They were all trying to be considerate. All wanting to make me feel better. I knew they were. But right now I just wasn’t in the mood.


	7. Albus

“Is it just me or is your sister terrifying when she’s angry?” Scorpius asked Carter.

We had escaped Gwen’s wrath although something told me she wasn’t actually going to come after us. We were now sitting in our dorm. We were all certain that Fletched Pike, the other boy in our dorm, was down eating breakfast in the Great Hall.

“That wasn’t angry.” Carter told us.

“That wasn’t angry?” I asked.

Carter shook his head.

“There’s a reason she’s so mad at her hair being messed with.” Carter explained. “But at least like that it can easy be fixed. It’s only a potion so there’s got to be an antidote for it. What I did to her was so much worse than that.”

I looked at him.

“You know that muggle product bleach?” Carter asked.

I nodded and Scorpius just stared blankly at him.

“It’s a product that lightens the colour of your hair.” I explained having heard Aunt Hermione and Mum talk about it before.

Scorpius just nodded in response. I knew that he was always a little awkward whenever we talking about muggle things. Sure his family was a lot more accepting now than they had been in the past. But that didn’t mean they had started bringing them all into their life.

“Well a few years ago, before she started at Hogwarts, I added it to the conditioning mask she was using on her hair.” Carter continued to explain. “Yes, ten-year-old Gwen was obsessed with her hair. Her eleventh birthday presents were a whole bunch of hair products.”

I snorted at this. My little sister, Lily, was going through a similar phase at the moment. Her hair was the most important thing in her life.

“I don’t know why she was using a conditioning mask.” Carter continued. “Her hair was already so shiny but she was fixated on it being soft, smooth and shiny. She put it in her hair and left it in for the time the packaging said. When she washed it out her hair was almost as blonde as Scorp’s is. A whole lot of it also fell out.”

Both Scorpius and I started laughing. We couldn’t imagine Gwen with blonde hair.

“She cried for weeks.” Carter continued reaching the end of the story. “Her her was so damaged that trying to put brown dye on it didn’t really work. So she had fairly patchy, thin, bleach blonde hair until it grew out enough for her to cut the blonde off. Her hair only just reached her shoulders again by the time she started at Hogwarts.”

Geeze, Carter could be quite cruel. I don’t want to get on his bad side. Ever.

“Carter, could you have been a worse child?” Scorpius asked him.

Carter just shrugged not having any words.

I just laughed again as Carter went on to tell us another story about pranks he pulled on his sisters. Each one worse than the one before.

* * *

It had been a couple of weeks since the mood ring hair incident. We had avoided Gwen ever since not wanting her to kill us for making comments about her hair.

I’d noticed that Gwen had been extra angry recently. She was screaming at James more often, even opting to skip meals to avoid him sometimes.

Once when stormed past me to get away from my idiotic brother I thought I saw her eyes flash red but I’m sure I was just seeing things. Although when I asked the guys about it they said they saw the same thing.

We hadn’t had a chance to speak to the girls about it though. They would probably know what was going on, them being in the same house and all.

It was breakfast time and we were eating our breakfast.

“Mind if we join you?” I heard Rose ask.

It was strange. The girl’s never joined us at the Slytherin table.

“Sure.” I told them.

They sat down either side of me as the Scorpius and Carter were sitting on the other side of the table.

“Do you know what’s going on with Gwen?” Carter asked.

I could tell he was worried about his sister. She had been avoiding him so he hadn’t had a chance to talk to her. It was stressing him out cause he thought something might be wrong and she wouldn’t talk about it.

“Well, you know how she was given that potion that turned her hair into a mood ring?” Milla asked us.

We all just nodded remembering that day very clearly. It had been explained to us later that it had been a potion so we knew how it had happened.

“The girls who made it are really bad at potions and they messed it up.” Rose explained. “When Slughorn cured her, there was a side effect. It transferred the ability to her eyes rather than her hair. Slughorn told her if the ability hadn’t disappeared twenty-four hours after the original potion had been given to her it was most likely to be permanent.”

We all stared in shock. So we hadn’t been seeing things. Her eyes actually flashed red.

“Molly’s been keeping notes on what every colour means.” Rose told us. “We all know that there’s probably some colours that haven’t appeared yet because she hasn’t been those emotions everyone is going to tell her if they see a new one.”

She pulled out a list from her pocket. Rose being Rose had probably copied down Molly’s list to show us.

“I thought it might be useful for you to have this when you go home Carter.” She said as she handed Carter the list.

Carter took it and began to read it out loud to us.

“Red, angry.” He read. “Black, she’s probably plotting something, be warned. White, scared. Maroon, annoyed, most likely at James.”

“Did you really need to copy that part?” I asked Rose.

She just shrugged. She had obviously wanted to be thorough.

“Normal, calm or relaxed.” Carter continued. “Yellow, happy. Navy blue, shameful. Aqua, teal or something in between, ashamed or embarrassed.”

“What happened for them to work that one out?” Scorpius asked.

“You probably won’t be at all surprised to know that James is the reason most of these were discovered.” Milla said. “James ‘accidently’ tripped her and she fell right onto that Hufflepuff fourth year, Noah Rivera.”

“What was James doing?” I asked.

Rose just gave me a look. Ah, James was being James. Probably asking her out or trying to do something he perceived as romantic.

“The only other colour is purple, curious.” Carter finished.

“How’d they work out that one?” I asked.

“Fred started talking about some girl.” Rose said. “Clearly Gwen wants to know about that.”

We all laughed. I’d seen how Fred was becoming with girls. It was kind of amusing sometimes. Other times it was kind of gross.

Once we’d stopped laughing we all went back to eating. After a short while I looked up to asked Scorpius something but burst out into laughter. His hair was as bright orange as Rose’s. Scorpius had Weasley red hair.

The others all looked over at me and then they all started laughing too. I didn’t know why. Scorpius was the one that looked ridiculous.

“Al, I think leave Lily as the only red haired Potter.” Rose told me.

I stared at her for a moment before picking up my spoon and looking at my reflection. I had Weasley red hair.

“I don’t think Malfoy’s should have red hair.” Milla added as I stared in shock at my reflection.

Scorpius did the same as me, picking up his spoon and inspecting himself. We both looked at one another. We were horrified. We both got up and ran out of the Great Hall.

When we reached the dorm we closed the door and locked it. Carter was not getting in. And neither was Fletcher for that matter.

“Why didn’t it affect Carter or the girls?” I asked after catching my breath.

“Maybe they did it?” Scorpius suggested.

“Rose isn’t like that.” I told him.

“She can be pretty nasty.” He said.

“Only to you though.” I said. “She wouldn’t do this to me. As much as I don’t want to be my dad’s double I don’t want red hair.”

“Same here.” He agreed.

“It was probably Carter.” I said after a moment of silence. “I don’t think Milla would do something like this and he told us about those pranks he pulled on his sisters.”

Scorpius agreed with me. We both decided to grab hats and head to the hospital wing to see if there wasn’t some way she could fix this.

* * *

For all intents and purposes Carter Smythe was missing. No one had seen him for the past few days. Well, no one had told us if they had. He hadn’t been to any our classes for nearly half a week and all the teachers were starting to question what had happened to him.

We couldn’t tell them. Neither Scorpius or I had any idea where our friend was. As much as we wanted to kill him for giving us red hair we really just wanted our friend back at this point. We wanted him to be okay.

It had taken a while but eventually I’d suggested we go speak to James. I knew he most likely had something that could help us find Carter. I just hoped he was willing to help us.

We went over to the Gryffindor common room knowing it was the best place to find him. We stood at the portrait waiting for someone to come out or want to go in. It didn’t take too long before the portrait opened to reveal a maroon-eyed Gwen.

“What are you doing here?” She snapped at us.

“We need to speak to James.” I told her.

“I’m not getting him.” She said. “He’ll think I’m pleading to let him take me to Hogsmeade.”

“Please Gwen, it’s about Carter.” I pleaded with her.

Her eyes changed colour the moment I mentioned Carter’s name. They flashed white. She was scared for her little brother.

“What’s wrong with him?” She asked.

“He’s missing.” Scorpius told her. “We haven’t seen him in days. He hasn’t been coming to class, meals or even to the dorm at night.”

Gwen stood frozen. Her eyes flashed white now. She was scared.

“I’ll get Fred and James.” She told us quickly before heading back into her common room.

She appeared a few moments later with Fred and James.

“Find my brother.” She snapped at all four of us before disappearing back into the common room.

“What’s wrong?” James asked as we walked away from their common room.

“Carter’s missing and no one knows where he is.” I told my brother.

“Ah, but you see, we can find him.” Fred said as James pulled out an old piece of parchment.

I rolled my eyes at them. We were hurried along to an empty corridor.

“I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.” James said as he pointed his wand at the parchment.

Faint lines began to appear across the parchment. Then words began to form. Once they were complete I was able to read, ‘Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs, Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers, are proud to present, The Marauder's Map.’

“Did you take this from Dad’s study?” I asked James.

Both James and Fred just laughed.

“Who are those people?” Scorpius asked after reading the names on the front.

“Prongs was our grandfather.” I said indicating between myself and James.

“Padfoot was our Dad’s godfather.” James continued.

“Moony was Teddy Lupin’s dad.” Fred said.

“Wormtail was the rat who betrayed our grandparents to Voldemort.” I explained.

Scorpius just nodded at our explanations. He knew who Teddy was as Teddy and his grandmother Andromeda occasionally spent time with the Malfoys. Andromeda and Scorpius’ grandmother, Narcissa, were sisters after all.

We all knew that Andromeda had been cast out for marrying a muggleborn but after the war Narcissa had contacted her wanting to see her again. Having lost almost everyone else in her life Andromeda agreed. The two of them had weekly lunches from what I’d heard. Teddy went every now and then so Scorpius and Teddy knew each other rather well.

“This map shows the entire school and where everyone is at any moment.” James explained.

He opened the map. It was amazing. All across it were little dots with names next to them. I found the corridor we were in and saw all our names huddled together. I began to search the map for Carter’s name. I had no idea where he could be.

“I found him.” Scorpius said excitedly.

There was Carter, sitting alone, in the kitchens. It made sense now how he was able to skip meals and not die.

“Thanks James.” I said to my brother as he folded up the map.

“Mischief managed.” James said pointing his want at the map again. “No problem Al.”

I watched as my brother and cousin headed off, probably back to their common room. I turned to Scorpius and smiled.

“Ready to go kill a friend?” I asked him.

He smirked back at me and we raced off towards the kitchens.

* * *

Scorpius and I burst into the kitchen. The moment he realised it was us Carter jumped up and drew his wand. He looked terrified. Both Scorpius and I had our wands drawn and well. We had this planned.

“Rictusempra.” I cast.

Carter fell to the ground laughing. The tickling charm. The only real revenge we wanted on him. Having our best friend terrified of what we were going to do to him was enough punishment. But we knew he wasn’t going to see it that way until we did something. The tickling charm was harmless enough.

“Is that really the best you’ve got?” Carter asked through his laughter.

“You want more?” Scorpius asked holding up his wand.

“No, no more.” Carter was still rolling around on the floor of the kitchen.

Both Scorpius and I laughed at him. I released the charm. Scorpius and I smiled at one another.

“You’re really not angry?” Carter asked us.

“It wasn’t so bad.” Scorpius said.

“Easily reversible.” I admitted.

All three of us started laughing again as we walked over to help him up.

“I thought it would be funny.” Carter explained. “I mean it was, until I realised who I’d done it to and what you might do to me because of it.”

“I need someone in the dorm who actually understands muggle things.” I told him.

“I need someone to help when Albus here starts talking about how great of a hero his dad is.” Scorpius joked.

“I don’t do that.” I defended. “You know I hate all the attention I end up getting because I’m the son of the boy-who-lived.”

“As much as I hate all the attention I get for being the son of a traitorous death eater.” Scorpius agreed.

I saw Carter roll his eyes at us as we led him out of the kitchens and back to the dorms. That boy really needed a shower.


	8. Louis

“Potter, I told you to stop it with that stupid nickname.” I heard Gwen yell at James.

Molly and I both let out a sigh. We knew what was going on. It was the same thing that always happened. James had asked Gwen out again and she had lost it.

I saw them enter the Great Hall. Gwen entered first. You didn’t even need to look at the bright red of her eyes, one that wasn’t coming it flashes, it was solid. The anger she was feeling was evident on her face. She must have already passed the maroon of irritation. How long had James been pestering her? James entered shortly after her.

“Please will you come to Hogsmeade with me this weekend?” He asked her.

“No, I’ve told you before I will not.” She responded as she sat down beside me.

“Why not?” He questioned.

“You’re excessively arrogant.” She said.

“Used that one.” Molly said having pulled her notebook from her back.

Molly had taken to carrying her notebook with her all the time now. Anytime James and Gwen were seen together she would pull it out. James had mentioned that he would not accept the same reason for her deny him twice so Molly’s recording of Gwen’s responses was helping him.

“Molly, you’re not helping.” Gwen said glaring at Molly across the table.

“On the contrary, I think I’m helping the right person.” Molly smiled.

Gwen just glared at her. Sure, the two girls were best friends but it was clear that Molly wanted Gwen and James together. She wasn’t as obvious as Fred was sometimes, when he was supporting them, but she was still obvious enough that it got Gwen mad at her every so often. It seemed that while James was the main cause of maroon, Molly was slowly becoming the main cause of red.

“Fine then.” Gwen said angrily before turning back to James. “You’ve never used my real name.”

“Used it.” Molly said finding it in her notebook.

“You’re overly confident.” Gwen suggested.

“Last month.” Molly said. “Again, don’t see how that’s a bad thing.”

Molly always liked to give her opinion of Gwen’s reasons, making note of them in her notebook. Each entry in the notebook was the reason, or excuse as Molly put it, along with the date and then Molly’s thoughts on the topic. Gwen hated the notebook and had attempted to burn it on multiple occasions.

Molly was smarter than that though. She had gotten Uncle Percy to teach her the fireproofing spell and had used it on the notebook. Through the years she had learnt other spells to make it waterproof and restrict anyone from tearing the pages out. Molly’s notebook was now virtually indestructible.

It was helpful to us all though. Sometimes we needed it to remember the more infrequent of the colours that Gwen’s eyes turned.

“Too conceited.” Gwen told James.

“Gwen you used that one yesterday.” Molly told her.

“That’s exactly my point.” Gwen yelled jumping up. “I can’t get a moment of peace. He’s always on my case. I’m going to need a million reasons just to get through Hogwarts if he keeps going at the rate he’s currently at. It’s infuriating how he refuses to leave me alone.”

“Is that a new one?” I asked Molly. “His persistence infuriates her.”

Molly quickly flicked through her notebook. After a moment her face fell.

“Yep, you’ve never used the fact that his persistence infuriates you.” Molly told Gwen.

“There you go Potter.” Gwen said turning back to James who had been hoping Molly would have been able to help him. “No, I will not go out with you as your persistence on that very subject infuriates me.”

James just stared at her. We all knew that eventually she was going to run out of reasons. I thought it was fun to help her, for now anyway. James sat down beside Molly and began to eat. We quickly settled into our regular conversation as friends, Fred and Parker joining us not too long after. He saw the red in Gwen’s eyes and didn’t dare question what was going on.

* * *

Gwen and Molly had asked me to meet them in the library. They also said to not tell the other boys at any cost. Well, if I wanted to live to finish fourth year anyway.

I walked down to the library to join them. I found them sitting down the back, almost out of sight. They appeared to be arguing about something although I couldn’t tell what it was. It was strange to see them arguing as it didn’t often happen. If all their previous arguments were anything to go by, this was either about James or their Girl Code.

“Hey.” I said as I sat down beside Molly.

“Hey Louis.” Gwen said sending me a smile.

I looked over at Molly, she was glaring at Gwen for some reason. Probably their argument.

“So we were thinking…” Gwen started.

“You mean you were thinking.” Molly said to her. “I want nothing to do with this.”

“What’s Gwen done?” I asked Molly.

“I came up with a way to hopefully get Potter off my back.” Gwen said a broad smile growing on her face and her eyes flashing black.

“Oh no, this can’t be good.” I said turning to look at Molly after seeing the colour of her eyes.

“Exactly my point.” Molly said with a sigh.

“Gwen, before you start explaining your plan, I’ve been meaning to ask why you call James by his last name but call me, Fred and Parker by our first names?” I asked her before she could explain her plan.

I’d always wondered why. And she had never actually explained it to me.

“As long as Potter calls me Doll on a regular basis I refuse to use his first name.” She responded. “Also both you and Fred, and Molly for that matter, have the same last name so it would be stupid for me to call you by your last name.”

I looked at her. She had a good point.

“So, anyway, what’s this brilliant plan of yours Gwendolen?” I asked her.

Gwen just glared at me her eyes briefly flashing red. She really didn’t like people using her full name. I’m not sure why though.

“I go to Hogsmeade with you, Louis.” She said.

I just stared at her. No. That was a terrible idea. James would kill me. That was the worst possible idea she could have come up with. Was she trying to get me killed?

“It goes against Girl Code, Gwen.” Molly told her.

“Can’t go disrespecting Girl Code.” I expressed hoping that just maybe their mysterious Girl Code would save me from the certain death that would come from going out with Gwen.

“You made Potter an exception.” Gwen told Molly. “Why can’t Louis be an exception for like a month? It’s just to get Potter to back off a little. I need space from him.”

“Fine.” Molly said. “But just this once.”

Gwen got up from her seat, her eyes flashing yellow as she ran over to Molly enveloping her in a hug.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you.” She said.

“I never said I’d agree to this.” I told Gwen.

She watched me, standing up straight. Her eyes turned a solid red. She was not happy. I’d learnt quickly, a flashing colour meant the emotion had become prominent, a solid colour meant it was strong.

“Louis William Weasley.” She started.

Oh no. Gwen yelling at me was not a good thing. Especially a red-eyed Gwen.

“He is your cousin.” She said. “You did not try hard enough to permanently deter him from asking me out. You say you tried but in reality you gave in so either way by this point he would have had your permission.”

Damn it. I knew Parker and I shouldn’t have told Gwen about our agreement with James.

“You know have I feel about this whole situation with him.” She continued. “You knew how I felt about how he treated me. Yet you still made that deal with him unintentionally giving him your support in his pursuits.”

I just stared at Gwen. She had clearly thought this all out. She knew what I would and would not react to. She had me there.

“Fine.” I gave in. “What’s the plan?”

Gwen smiled at me the red fading from her eyes a brief flash of yellow appearing as she sat back down in her seat across the table. I could not think of any possible outcome where this went well for me. No possible outcome.

* * *

This plan was ridiculous. At the end of our meeting in which Gwen revealed her plan to me she threw me a book. She told me I needed to read it and memorise the sections she had highlighted. It was to show James that I knew more about her than he did.

Her plan was for me to ask her at breakfast, if James was sitting with us of course, so that he couldn’t make too much of a scene. Although knowing James he probably would regardless.

I was sure that I seemed rather jittery as Parker and I walked into the Great Hall and took my seat beside Gwen who’s eyes were a solid black. It was times like these that I was glad I didn’t suffer from the same predicament as Gwen. There was no way I would have been able to hide my nerves from the other if I did. I was worried that they might see her eyes and realise something was up.

As I sat down I looked over at Molly who was trying not to laugh at the situation. She knew exactly what was to come and neither of us knew what to expect from James. We all had assumptions but none of us could be certain.

Not long after I’d sat down Fred and James entered the Great Hall and walked over to the table to sit with Parker, across from Gwen, Molly and I. James seemed abnormally happy. It was a pity that I was about to ruin that. Well, both me and Gwen.

“Did you read that book I gave you, Louis?” Gwen asked me while we ate in silence.

I knew she was referring to the book she had thrown at the end of our meeting. It hadn’t really been a book, it was a play. A play which suspiciously had a character named Gwendolen.

I hadn’t been reading it for long when I realised why she had wanted me to read it and further on, why she had wanted me to learn that passage.

“It was rather strange.” I told her, giving my honest opinion of the play. “Although I expected them to get caught. Their plan was never going to work.”

I hoped that maybe by dropping subtle hints that I didn’t actually want to go through with the plan she might eventually see my side and agree to drop this whole thing.

“They believed they had to try though.” She told me. “They were doing it for love, after all. Or physical attraction at least.”

“What are you two talking about?” Fred asked from across the table.

“I gave Louis a book to read.” Gwen told Fred.

“It wasn’t a book, Gwen.” I explained. “It was a play. The Importance of Being Earnest.”

“These two men both pretend their name is Ernest to win the hearts of these girls they are in love with.” Gwen explained. “I was named after one of the characters in the play. I have to say, I am glad it was Gwendolen though. I much prefer being named after her than after Cecily. That character clearly had no redeeming qualities.”

As Gwen was explaining I saw a flash of pink take over the black for a moment. Pink? I don’t think any of us had seen that before.

I leaned around the back of Gwen and nudged Molly. I mouthed ‘pink’ to her and Molly looked at me confused. She opened her notebook and flipped to the back. After a moment she looked up at me and shook her head.

“That’s the beauty of the character.” I told Gwen having heard the end of her explanation. “She provides a break from all the other characters.”

“I suppose you could say that.” Gwen said as she gave me a look.

I could tell she was no longer enjoying this conversation. It was clear she wanted me to proceed with the plan. I tried my hardest not to let out a sigh as I went over the words in my head one last time.

“I hope, Gwen, I shall not offend you if I state quite frankly and openly that you seem to me to be in every way the visible personification of absolute perfection.” I told Gwen.

A small clatter came from across the table. I knew it was James dropping his cutlery. I stole a glance over at him. His eyes looked as though he was trying to make me burst into flames with his gaze. He was furious and I hadn’t even asked her out yet.

“I think your frankness great credit, Louis.” Gwen responded.

“Ever since I first looked upon your wonderful and incomparable beauty, I have dared to love you wildly, passionately, devotedly, hopelessly.” I continued.

These lines really were sappy. James’ anger appeared to be growing as Fred now had his hand on James’ shoulder and he looked to be applying considerable force.

“I don’t think you should tell me you love me wildly, passionately, devotedly, hopelessly.” Gwen told me with a smile her eyes flashing yellow for a second as she noticed what was happening with James and Fred across the table. She was enjoying this. “Hopelessly doesn’t seem to make much sense, does it?”

“No, it doesn’t.” I heard James say through gritted teeth.

“I do believe that Potter is rather annoyed.” Gwen said with a smirk the solid black of her eyes no longer being able to be overtaken by any other flashes.

Gwen talking about James like he wasn’t there nearly put him over the edge. This whole situation was making him even angrier than we had believed possible. Neither of us had realised the extent of James’ obsession but it was now clear that it wasn’t just an obsession. He actually genuinely fancied her. Although, I don’t think Gwen could see that.

“Oh, I don’t care about James.” I continued knowing that I was reaching the end and would soon be able to retreat to somewhere that James wouldn’t be able to find me while he cooled off. “I don’t care for anybody in the whole world but you. I love you, Gwen. You will accompany me to Hogsmeade this weekend, won’t you?

“You silly boy.” Gwen responded shoving my shoulder slightly. “Of course.”

That was the final straw. James nearly pounced on me over the table. Fred had his arms around James holding him back. Parker, who had been closely watching Fred and James, saw Fred struggling with James and got in between James and Gwen.

“We’ll just take him away.” Parker said as him and Fred started to drag James out of the Great Hall.

“I’m going with them.” Molly said getting up and following them out.

Once they were out of the Great Hall Gwen turned to me a broad smile on her face, yellow flashing in her eyes again.

“That was amazing.” She said throwing her arms around my neck.

“I feel bad for James.” I told her as I pushed her off me.

“Well he can learn how angry he makes me.” She snapped a flash of red appearing.

She got up from her seat and headed out.

I let out a sigh. It was going to be a difficult day trying to avoid James. Even then, I still had to go to the dorm that night. I knew that before I went to sleep that night I was going to have to talk to my cousin. And talking to James was not something I was looking forward to.


	9. Parker

I had been recruited. At least, that’s how James was phrasing it. He was mad at Louis for taking Gwen to Hogsmeade so he thought he would just follow them for the entire day and make sure nothing untoward was happening.

His word, not mine.

I’d had to look up that word. And I don’t own a dictionary. Thankfully it hadn’t been too hard as the cousin of my friends, minus Gwen, owned an excessive number of books and thankfully had had a dictionary on hand.

Apparently the word means inconvenient or awkward which made me question why James would use it in this situation. But when I asked Rose, the girl with the books, she had been able to explain that it could also mean unexpected and inappropriate which made a lot more sense.

The next question I’d had was how James knew that word. He wasn’t book smart so why he knew this strange word was beyond me.

And that was how I, Parker Thomas Peterson, ended up stalking Gwen and Louis through their date in Hogsmeade with James Sirius Potter. We had followed them out of the castle and into the village.

“James, what do you think you’re doing?” I heard Molly ask from behind us.

She had snuck up behind us. Clearly she was unimpressed with this stalking. I was too but someone needed to keep James under control.

“Making sure Louis doesn’t do anything untoward.” He told her.

There was that word again. I needed to ask him how he knew it. Molly just rolled her eyes at his use of the word. She must know what it means. She’s really smart. She also probably knew how he knew the word. I was surprised that James had been so honest with her. Although maybe them being cousins had something to do with it.

“It’s Louis and Gwen.” She said. “Do you really think he’s going to do anything? They’ve been good friends for three and a half years James. Leave them be.”

“He might do something.” James told her. “And if he does, I’ll be ready.”

I tried my hardest not to laugh. Anyone could see that Louis didn’t actually fancy Gwen. It must be some ploy to get James to back off or something.

Molly didn’t have anything else to say. She just turned and walked off. I saw James spin around quickly to the spot he had last seen Louis and Gwen. I’d be surprised if they got out of his sights at all today.

We watched as they walked along the street together. It honestly didn’t look any different to how they would walk went they were with Molly. The only real difference was that Molly wasn’t there. Okay, maybe I watch that group walk a little too much. But at least I can admit it, unlike James who seems to think his constant watching of Gwen is some cute romantic gesture.

We stood in the shadows watching them. James had dragged me over here claiming that we would be seen otherwise. I had pointed out that it wouldn’t matter if we were seen as it’s not like he was solo stalking them. It wouldn’t matter if the two of us were seen together in Hogsmeade. James seemed to think it would be a problem hence the hiding in the shadows.

As we watched they walked over to Tomes and Scrolls, going inside.

“Gonna follow them in there?” I asked him.

I knew how much James cared for his reputation. I also knew how far a book store was from that image of himself he presented.

“Only they would go on a date to a book store.” James muttered. “They are both such swots.”

“You didn’t answer my question.” I told him.

“There is no way I am going to enter that book store.” James told me. “Well, unless Gwen asked me to.”

I laughed at his comment. I hadn’t need that last comment. Everyone knew that. He would do anything for her if she asked him to. Even ruin his reputation.

“Spying on Gwen and Louis are we?” Fred asked as he joined us.

“What else was I going to do?” James asked in response.

“Very true.” Fred admitted. “You are crazy.”

“I resent that.” James responded.

Okay, where was he learning these words.

“Ooh, he knows big words.” Fred joked.

“Shut up.” James muttered.

We stood in silence for moment before Fred turned to me.

“What are you doing here?” He asked me. “I thought you had more common sense than him.”

“I got dragged along.” I explained. “But someone needs to keep him in line. His stalking might go too far if we leave him alone.”

“I’m not stalking them.” James protested.

“Yes you are.” Both Fred and I told him.

“Are we just going to stand here?” Fred asked after a moment of silence.

“They went into Tomes and Scrolls.” I explained. “James cares more about his reputation than watching them in a book store.”

“What if they’re snogging behind a bookshelf?” Fred asked with a smirk.

I watched as James reached his hands up to Fred’s throat. Strangulation was an interesting method to stop someone from making jokes. Fred grabbed both of James’ wrists and laughed before the hands could reach his neck.

“Well, it was good seeing you two.” Fred said to us after shoving James off him. “But I think I’m going to head off. I’ve got Kayla Burgess waiting for me at the Three Broomsticks.”

I just rolled my eyes at Fred and he walked off. Guess I was stuck babysitting the stalker. Fun.

James had once again dragged me out of sight. Honestly this looked more suspicious than us standing in the middle of the street watching the store. Sometimes, most of the time, I don’t understand how James’ mind works. And I don’t think I want to.

Pretty soon after Fred left Gwen and Louis left the store. I watched Louis hold the door for Gwen and as she stepped out of the store. Louis was carrying a bag. Gwen wasn’t. I feared what was going through James’ mind.

We watched them continue down the street. They were heading towards the Hogs Head. I’m not sure why they would go there but clearly James did as he made a strange noise upon realising what direction they were heading in.

“Come on, let’s go say hi to Aberforth.” James said grabbing hold of my arm.

“Who?” I asked not understanding what he was saying.

“The owner of the Hogs Head.” James explained. “He’s friends with my dad.”

I rolled my eyes attempting to resist the force James was putting on my arm as he tried to drag me towards the pub.

“Gwen and Louis just went in there, didn’t they?” I asked in an attempt to by them some time.

Of course I knew the answer but I wasn’t going to let him know that I was watching them as well. He might start to think I’m enjoying this stalking. And while I have to admit that the way James is acting is rather amusing I still think it’s wrong of him to be stalking them.

Eventually I gave in to his tugging on my arm. He hadn’t answered my question but he’d realised what I was doing. I let out a sigh and followed him to the Hogs Head.

When we entered the building I noticed the man at the bar eyeing James strangely. James’ eyes were fixed on Gwen and Louis. I indicated at them and the man nodded at me before continuing what he was doing.

James led us to a table. It was clear what he was doing. He wanted to be able to watch them. This meant I had my back to them as James stared over my shoulder.

“James, you really need to chill.” I told him. “Louis is fifteen, Gwen is fourteen, it’s not like they’re getting married and you’ve lost your chance forever.”

“I am here to make sure Louis doesn’t do anything untoward.” James said again.

“Okay, you have to explain to me how you know that word.” I told him. “I had to look it up and I still didn’t understand it. Your second year cousin had to explain it to me.”

“Molly got me a word a day calendar for Christmas last year so I could sound smarter when talking to Gwen.” He explained.

I just sighed and rolled my eyes before letting my forehead drop onto the table. Why Molly ever thought it a good idea to help this idiot I don’t know.

“Somehow today’s word was untoward.” He continued. “It was the perfect word for today.”

“James, don’t you think that maybe you’re taking this a little too far?” I asked lifting my head off the table. “I mean, sure Molly supports you now, but don’t you think she’s just trying to see how far she can push Gwen. And you’d assume that once Gwen reaches the point of breaking Molly will stop supporting you all together.”

James just stared at me his face going completely blank. Okay, maybe he hadn’t thought of that. But it was only logical. If Molly lost Gwen she would only have us guys. And we would be forced to choose between Gwen and Molly.

James would obviously choose Gwen. There would be no doubt about that one. I’m pretty sure Fred would choose Molly. They are cousins after all. There no way to tell who Louis would pick. While Molly is his cousin he seems willing to do anything Gwen, even make James hate him.

I wouldn’t know what to do if I was forced to choose between them. I care about them both. They are both my friends.

As I contemplated what I would do if the friendship broke up I saw James jump up from his seat. Gwen and Louis were leaving them. As they exited the Hogs Head I saw Gwen lean into Louis. I could see James getting angry at this action so I placed my hand on his shoulder.

“Louis isn’t doing anything.” I told him. “It’s all Gwen.”

James just nodded in response however he did not relax.

“Hi James.” I heard a girl say from beside me.

I looked over at who had spoken. It was Kendall Wood, one of the girls dorm mates.

“Hi Kendall.” James said with a sigh.

This girl was rather irritating. None of us guys really liked her anymore after what she and Juliet did to Gwen last year. Gwen was still suffering from side effects of that prank. I felt bad for James. I could tell he didn’t want to talk to her yet he knew he had to be nice.

We all knew Kendall and Juliet were obsessed with James, Louis and Fred. I’d heard Gwen and Molly complain that they would stay up late some nights just talking about the other guys. Honestly it really was quiet ridiculous.

“What have you been doing?” She asked James.

I could tell he watch itching to look at Gwen and Louis but he had been raised to be polite forcing him to continue to face her as he unwillingly conversed with her.

“Nothing much.” He responded rather vaguely.

I could see a pained smile spread across his face. He really was trying his hardest to be nice. It was just so obvious he didn’t want to talk to her.

“Oh, that’s too bad.” She said softly. “You wouldn’t happen to want to come get a butterbeer with me at the Three Broomsticks?”

And there it was. Exactly what I knew was coming. Kendall seemed to think that because Gwen was with Louis, James would fall straight into her arms.

I rolled my eyes at her comment and as my gaze fell onto Gwen and Louis again my eyes widened. I was witnessing something I had never expected to see. Gwen had grabbed hold of Louis’ collar and pulled his face down to lock her lips with his.

I knew I was staring at them. What else could I do? No one could have predicted that.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw James spin around. Oh no.

Gwen and Louis pulled apart, a mischievous smile across her face and a shocked expression on his.

“James?” Kendall asked putting her hand on his shoulder.

Give it a rest Kendall. He’s probably hurting right now.

“I think I’ll just go back to the castle.” James muttered quietly not turning.

He quickly headed off in the direction of the castle. I wanted to call out for him but I was still too shocked after what I’d seen. I couldn’t imagine how he was feeling.

I walked over in the direction of Gwen and Louis. I had to speak to them. I had to know what she was thinking.

“Gwendolen Grace Smythe what in heavens name do you think you’re doing?” I yelled at her as I approached the couple.

“I just wanted to see what all the fuss was about.” Gwen said with a shrug. “Surely you’ve seen how many girls Fred had kissed.”

“That doesn’t mean you had to kiss Louis in front of James.” I told her.

“Well if it gets him to leave me alone then yes, I had to.” She snapped at me before walking off in the direction of the castle.

Louis and I just stared after her.

* * *

When I got back to the dorm I noticed the drapes around James’ bed were drawn. He must be wallowing in self-pity. I couldn’t think of anything else he’s be doing. He’s just had his heart broken.

I’d worked out pretty quickly that James wasn’t just being irritating on purpose. He genuinely liked Gwen and thought that all his ridiculous antics were the best way to get her attention.

“What’s up with mopey in there?” Fred asked indicating towards James’ bed.

“Gwen kissed Louis.” I said. “James saw.”

Fred just groaned. We sat down on my bed not wanting to disturb James’ moping. Just as we sat down Louis entered the dorm. 

“How was it?” Fred asked James with a laugh.

Louis was looking completely frazzled. Something was going on with him. There had seemed something a little off with him since the kiss.

“Fine, I guess.” Louis responded.

“Gonna go out with her again?” Fred asked.

I elbowed him in the ribs. James was still in the room.

“No.” Louis said lying down on his bed but looked over at us.

“Why not?” Fred pressed. “If you had a good time.”

“Because I don’t like her like that.” Louis explained.

I was glad of that. At least with Louis not going out with Gwen I wouldn’t be forced to stalk them.

“But you kissed her.” Fred said.

“She kissed me.” Louis corrected.

“I told you that Fred.” I said.

Fred just rolled his eyes.

“But honestly, I don’t like her.” Louis defended. “I never have and I don’t think I ever will.”

“That’s a big claim to make.” I said.

“Gwen’s like Vic or Dom to me.” Louis explained. “The date only confirmed that.”

I don’t think Louis realised James was here. I wasn’t going to be the one to tell him. Honestly it was a little amusing to watch Louis bury himself in a hole without even realising. With James hearing all this I couldn’t see it ending well.

“Then why’d you go on it in the first place?” Fred asked.

I wanted to know that too. I’m pretty sure James was alert at this point paying close attention to what was going being said.

“Honestly?” Louis asked.

Both Fred and I nodded.

“It was all Gwen’s idea.” Louis explained. “She wanted James to leave her alone. Thought us going on a date would be the best way. But I feel like all I’ve done is destroy my own relationship with James.”

I have a feeling that it is this moment that finally has James realising how he is affecting Gwen.

“Yeah, James might just kill you after what he saw.” I joked.

Louis paled. He already knew that James had seen the kiss but I don’t think he knew the extent of his cousin’s stalker tendencies.

“Oh no, what did he see?” Louis groaned.

“Everything.” I explained. “It’s James. He thought it was a good idea to watch the entire date. Well, except in Tomes and Scrolls. He’s not exactly the type to go into a book store.”

Louis groaned again putting his hands over his face. I felt bad for him. But really, he had brought this upon himself.


	10. Rose

Scorpius Malfoy.

He was the bane of my existence.

I had managed to follow Dad’s wishes. He had never beaten me in anything. Well, maybe except for flying. But we only had Mum to blame for that.

Sure we were had the same friends. But that doesn’t mean I have to like him.

“You look angry.” Milla said to me as she looked over the table at me. “Thinking about Scorpius again?”

We were in the library finishing our homework. Neither of us wanted it to be left over so we tried to finish it as early as possible. The boys didn’t agree with us. They preferred to put off their homework then come crawling to us for help. Well, Albus and Carter anyway. Scorpius always managed to do his last minute and still have it near perfect.

“How’d you know?” I asked her jokingly.

“Nothing makes you are irritated or angry as Scorpius does.” She pointed out.

We both laughed. She was right.

“I think you’re just awed by his ability it finish his homework last minute without any assistance.” Milla said.

“I am not.” I told her.

Then the boys decided to join us. I watched them walk into the library, spot my hair and walk over to our table.

“What work haven’t you done this time?” Milla asked them as they sat down with us.

“Can’t we just want to spend time with our friends?” Carter asked her.

“You two can’t, if we’re in the library.” I said indicating between Albus and Carter. “You have this annoying habit of not doing your work then asking to copy ours. You’re just like what Mum tells me Dad and Uncle Harry were like.”

“Great, compared to my dad again.” Albus muttered. “Another thing to add to the list.”

“You know I didn’t mean it like that Al.” I told him.

I’d forgotten, momentarily, how much he hated being compared to Uncle Harry.

“Good one Rose, send Al into another depression.” Milla said jokingly.

Albus had a habit, even worse than his refusal to study, where he would shut himself off from everyone every time he was compared to his dad. And that was often. So at least once a week there was a day where he refused to speak to anyone because someone had made some comment. It was a little annoying.

“You really know how to say the right things, don’t you Weasley?” Scorpius said to me.

That was more annoying. Scorpius liked to call my by my last name. But only half my last name. The half he said was because, as he always told me, he associated it with me more because of my hair. The thing is the colour is Dad’s but everything else about it is Mum’s.

“It’s Granger-Weasley, Malfoy.” I told him.

“Oh, I don’t think my name should just be stuck on the end like that.” He said. “I’d like to think I’m worth more than that.”

I stared in shock. He was right. The way I’d said it made it sound like I was adding Malfoy to my already long last name.

“Are you saying you want her to be Rose Malfoy?” Cater asked Scorpius.

Scorpius just shrugged before starting to work on his homework. I could feel my face heating up. I looked down at my book in front of me. I didn’t want them to see me blushing. At Carter’s words Albus snapped out of his depressive state and glared between Carter and Scorpius.

“What did you just say?” Albus asked slowly.

“Congratulations Carter, you’ve found a way to snap Albus out of his depression.” Milla said applauding him.

“The way Scorpius phrased his retort to Rose made him sound like he was saying he wanted her to have his last name.” Carter explained to Albus.

“What did Scorp say?” Albus asked.

“Something about me not sticking his name on the end of mine because he’s worth more than that.” I said rolling my eyes. “His words, not mine. Now can we please move on I really don’t want to be thinking about Malfoy being part of name. Honestly, I couldn’t think of anything worse.”

“Is Malfoy really the worst last name you could have though Rose?” Albus asked. “I could think of plenty worse names. What if your last name was, say, Riddle?”

“Albus Severus Potter I’m going to kill you.” I yelled jumping up from my seat and leaning over the table to strangle my cousin.

I had nearly got my hands on his when I noticed a shadow appear over me. I turned my head to look and saw Madam Pince, the librarian, standing over us.

“Miss Granger-Weasley, I’m going to have to ask you to leave as you are disturbing the other students.” She told me.

I let out a sigh and rolled my eyes before packing up my stuff and getting up from my seat, glaring at Albus the entire time, and heading out of the library.

* * *

I was nearly half way back to the dorms when I heard Milla calling after me. It was nice to see that at least one of my friends had come after me.

“Sorry I took so long.” She told me through her deep breaths. “I had to lecture each of the boys.”

She must have run to try to catch up to me. It was so nice that she had run just to catch me.

“What about?” I asked.

“Well I was telling Albus off for saying something that got you so mad you yelled.” She started. “So telling him off for getting you kicked out. You will have to explain to me what he said and why it made you so mad as I really don’t understand. Then again I don’t think the others understood what he had said either. They both looked as confused as I felt.”

“Milla, focus.” I said. “I’ll tell you about that once we get to the dorms.”

“Right.” She said blushing when she realised she’d been rambling. “I had to tell Scorpius off for embarrassing you. Honestly if someone didn’t know any better they might have thought that what he said meant he was in love with you. Implying that he wanted you to have his last name. If that doesn’t scream love I don’t know what does.”

I just rolled my eyes at her ramblings. It was kind of funny sometimes. And it got me thinking. Did Scorpius actually mean what he said or was he just trying to mess with me? He was probably just trying to mess with me. He loves making me look bad. Almost as much as I love beating him.

“I’m getting off track again.” Milla realising her ramblings on her own this time. “Well, I had to tell Carter off for dragging the whole thing out longer than it needed to be. Honestly that whole thing could have been avoided if he just stopped talking. He does that a lot thought doesn’t he? Drag things out longer than they need to go on for I mean. I’ve noticed that.”

I laughed at Milla. Sometimes her ramblings could be amusing.

“It’s fine really.” I told her. “You didn’t need to lecture them. You also didn’t need to come running after me. You could have just stayed with them. I would have gone and found Frank.”

“Ah, but you see then I would never find out what Albus said.” Milla told me.

“I’m sure he would have told you.” I replied.

“Scorp asked.” She said. “He wouldn’t say.”

“Milla there’s a difference between you asking as Malfoy asking.” I explained. “For starters you’re his relative. And secondly you’re a girl. With Al all you have to do is make that girly pouty face and he can’t say no.”

Milla just stared at me. I don’t think she realised that trick.

“Don’t tell anyone I told you that though.” I said quickly. “Lily might just kill me if she found our I’d shared that.”

We reached the entrance to the common room. Milla quickly said the password and we entered. We headed straight up to the dorm as Milla was still eager to find out why I had been so offended by Albus’ comment.

Once we were in the dorm we sat down on our beds facing one another. Thankfully our dorm mates, Emily McLaggen and Jessie Moore, weren’t here. I don’t think I would have explained it Milla if they were. It was kind of a a family thing. And Milla was kind of family.

“So I’m sure you know about the wizarding war and everything.” I said to her.

Milla just nodded. I knew she knew about it all. We were both avid readers. There was no way she couldn’t have found out about it. I just said it to preface what I was about to say.

“Well the wizard who called himself Voldemort, his real name was Tom Riddle.” I explained. “Professor Dumbledore, the one Albus is named after, he told Uncle Harry about who Voldemort really was and Uncle Harry told Mum and Dad.”

“Is that it?” Milla asked. “I was expecting some great story. But all it is is the last name of the evil wizard who killed a whole lot of people.”

“I wouldn’t say that in front of my family.” I told her. “That evil wizard killed my Uncle Fred, well one of his followers did. They also caused the death of Uncle Harry’s parents and godfather. For that reason as well I wouldn’t go mentioning it in front of your grandmother.”

Milla looked shocked. I was remaining as calm as I could while talking about this. It was hard. These people I spoke about were family. They had all suffered.

“He also caused the death of Teddy Lupin’s parents when he wasn’t even a month old.” I continued. “He’s Uncle Harry’s godson, pretty much a brother to Albus, so don’t mention that in front of him. Really, I don’t think you should mention that in front of anyone. Voldemort caused a lot of damage. Don’t speak lightly of him.”

“I never realised how bad it was.” Milla said. “Sure I’ve read about it and it seemed rather awful but I didn’t realise the effects it still had on people.”

I just gave her a weak smile. I didn’t like talking about the war. It was so long ago and I didn’t truly understand the effect it had had on the people involved. I guess I never really would considering I wasn’t there.

Neither Milla or I said anything else. We both just lay down in our beds with a book each and started reading. It helped me get out of my head.

* * *

We had joined the boys for dinner at the Slytherin table again. It was becoming more of a regular occurrence at this point for us to eat with them. Although both Carter and Albus had a sibling in Gryffindor the people in our house weren’t exactly the most friendly and tended to be quite rude towards them. The Slytherins just ignored us which was understandable.

“Sorry about getting you kicked out of the library.” Albus said to me as Milla and I sat down next to him.

“The least you could have done was leave the library but you didn’t think of that did you?” I snapped at him.

Okay, I was a little angry that he’d stayed in the library after I’d gotten kicked out. He was the one who caused it. Why did he get to stay while I had to leave?

If only the boys were as nice as Milla. Then again, they are boys.

“I’m a Slytherin, what can I do?” He responded.

“Maybe this time I’ll actually succeed in strangling you.” I said as I leaned over Milla to try and grab at his neck again.

Milla didn’t even try to stop me. I think she found it rather amusing watching me try to kill Albus. I knew Carter and Scorpius did as I could hear their laughter across the table.

“Rose, I don’t think my godfather would be very happy to watch me be killed right in front of him.” Albus said calmly.

I froze and looked up at the teacher’s table to see Professor Longbottom watching us. He looked amused but I could see the warning look in his gaze as our eyes met.

“Who’s your godfather?” Carter asked confused.

“Professor Longbottom.” I said as I settled back into my seat.

“He shared a dorm with our dads.” Albus explained. “They were decent enough friends. From what I’ve heard Dad really help him come out of his shell.”

“My father never liked him that much.” Scorpius muttered. “Although, he didn’t really like anyone.”

“Did your dad even like your mum?” Carter asked.

“She’s two years younger.” Scorpius explained. “He didn’t really know her. He’s said he didn’t dislike my aunt, Daphne, but found her a little irritating sometimes.”

We all looked at Scorpius. As much as people compared him to Draco Malfoy the two seemed nothing alike. At least, not when Draco was younger.

“Your dad sounds like a spoilt whiny little rich kid.” Milla commented.

“He was, for the most part.” Scorpius said.

“Dad said he always use to say, ‘my father will hear about this.’” I added.

We all laughed. It was nice to be able to forget about the division our separate houses caused. We could really all just sit together and talk. It was really nice.

As dinner drew to a close a few owls flew in to deliver letters to some people. One letter was dropped into Carter’s lap. He looked at it for a moment confused as to why it was there.

“What’s wrong?” I asked him.

“I haven’t written to Mum and Dad recently.” He said. “I don’t know why they’d be sending me something.”

“Just open it and see.” Milla told him.

Carter tore open the letter and began to read it. We all sat silently as he read through the letter. We wanted to know what it was about as well. As he read through the letter his face remained solid. No emotion showed at all. Part of me wished he suffered the same thing as Gwen. That way I might actually know how he’s feeling.

Scorpius continued eat glancing over at Carter every now and then. I could tell he was trying not to read the letter of Carter’s shoulder. We would be told when he’d finished.

After reading through the letter Carter got up and left. We stared after his retreating figure. He’d taken the letter with him so there was no way for us to tell what it had said.

“Should we go after him?” Milla asked.

“Something’s bothering him.” Scorpius said. “Let him calm down and he’ll tell us. If we try to talk to him now he’ll just shut us out.”

“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.” I said.

“Slytherin.” Albus told me.

They were strange. The boys we were friends with. For some reason they thought being in Slytherin was a good excuse for a whole range of things.

“It’s also a guy thing.” Scorpius told us.

Okay, that made more sense than Albus’ reason. Honestly Albus learn some originality.

“You’ll tell us in the morning won’t you?” Milla asked.

“Meet us at breakfast.” Albus agreed.

Milla and I smiled and got up. We decided just to head back to the dorm. We were both pretty tired and wanted to get some sleep.


	11. James

I couldn’t sleep. Sure I hadn’t been sleeping properly since that day I saw Louis kissing Gwen. But tonight was different. Other nights I had gotten to sleep but woken up multiple times. Tonight I just couldn’t get to sleep.

I was sure that it was past midnight by now and I couldn’t see myself getting to sleep anytime soon. The other guys were all asleep and I could hear them snoring.

I got up, grabbed the map out of my trunk and decided to head down to the kitchens. Maybe I was just hungry.

As I got down the steps into the common room I heard a sniffle coming from the corner of the room.

“Lumos.” I whispered lighting the end of my wand.

There was a ball curled up in the corner as I got closer I noticed the colour of the long hair that fell all around her. That deep brown looked familiar.

“Are you alright?” I asked softly.

The girl looked up at me. It was Gwen. Her eyes were a solid blue. It was a colour I’d never seen before. I didn’t need to know what the colour meant though. It was clear what she was feeling.

“Doll, are you alright?” I asked her.

“Go away Potter.” She said her voice breaking as she spoke.

She was trying to be strong, that much was clear. She looked so broken. I didn’t know what to do.

“Gwendolen are you alright?” I tried again losing the pet name as I knew now wasn’t the time.

“James, I said go away.” She said her voice becoming even shakier than before.

I stood in shock. She never called me James. There must be something seriously wrong.

“Gwen, when have I ever listened to you?” I asked as I knelt down beside her.

She didn’t respond turned her head away from me. I helped her up and over to the couches. It couldn’t have been comfortable sitting on the floor like that. I helped her sit down on the couch and walked over to the fire.

“Incendio.” I muttered relighting the fire that had died out once most of the other students had gone to bed.

I sat down beside her. I didn’t dare ask her what was wrong again. She would tell me if she wanted to.

It was then that I noticed a piece of paper in her hand. Paper? It must be a letter from home. I knew her mum acted like a muggle and her dad was one. But if it was a letter from home why did it have this effect on her?

That must have been the letter she’d gotten during dinner. It had come while we were eating but hadn’t wanted to open it at the time as she didn’t was to draw her attention away from the conversation.

I watched her. She opened her mouth as if to say something but quickly closed it and turned away. She couldn’t actually say what it was. She handed me the letter that she was holding.

_D_ _ear Gwendolen,_

_We didn’t want to write to you but I’m afraid we have to. Your parents are dead. There was a car accident. A truck hit them while they were coming to pick up Ivy. She’s fine. We’re looking after her. She’s staying in Felix’s room. There isn’t any other space here. We won’t have place for you so we’d advise you make other arrangements for your summer break._

_Best wishes,  
Harold and Hazel Garcia_

Best wishes? Were these people serious. There were no words.

“Gwen.” I said softly.

What could I say? There wasn’t anything that sounded right.

“I’m so sorry.” I said after a what felt like forever.

I placed my arm over her shoulders. It wasn’t like any of the other times I’d done it. Those times I was trying to pull her closer. Those times I was trying to ask her out. This time I wasn’t. I just wanted to be there for her. I needed her to see that I wanted to help.

That was when she broke. A loud sob found its way past her lips and she threw her arms around my neck. She was nearly sitting in my lap as she cried. I wrapped both my arms around her, holding her tightly as I rubbed circles on her back.

I wanted to whisper words of encouragement to her but it just felt like it wouldn’t be sincere. Right now all she need was to let everything out. There was no telling how long she cried for but eventually I felt it slow and her breathing levelled out. She had fallen asleep.

As much as I wished we weren’t on the couch, as it was really rather uncomfortable, I wasn’t going to move. Gwen needed me. Slowly I readjusted our position so we were lying on the couch rather than sitting. It was slightly more comfortable although I knew my back was still probably going to be sore in the morning.

I summoned my blanket knowing the fire would eventually die out again. I laid it over us and closed my eyes. For the first time in almost two months I slept well, even if it was on a couch.

* * *

“Can someone please explain to me how this happened?” Molly asked as she looked down on me.

I opened my eyes to see Molly, Louis, Fred and Parker standing in front of us. They were all looking at me and Gwen. Oh no. What were they thinking? This can’t be good.

I felt Gwen begin to move around in my arms. She pulled her face off my shoulder where she’d been sleeping and opened her eyes looking at me. They were her normal brown. Good. She was feeling better. They flashed orange for a second before fading to blue again. I felt so bad for her.

Her bottom lip began to quiver. I could tell she was going to start crying again. I pulled her close once again just as she was about to let out a sob.

“Do you want me to tell them?” I whispered to her.

I felt her nod. She didn’t trust her words.

I looked up at our friends. I was about to tell them then I realised we were in the common room. Anyone could be here. Anyone could hear and spread it around the school.

“Can we go up to the dorm?” I asked her. “So that it’s just our friends.

I felt her nod again before pulling her face away and wiping it enough to get us out of the common room.

“Let’s go to the dorm.” I told the others. “I’ll explain everything.”

As I got up off the couch I noticed the letter on the floor. It had been hidden under the edge of the blanket. I picked it up. It might be useful to have that.

We walked up the stairs to the dorm I shared with the other guys. When we got there I sat down on my bed. To my surprise Gwen sat next to me and placed her head on my shoulder again. I quickly put my arm over her shoulders and held her.

The others were completely lost for words. None of them had expect this. I hadn’t even expected this. I thought she’d go sit with Louis and Molly who had both sat on his bed.

“Last night she got this letter from her aunt and uncle.” I said holding up the paper. “It says that her parents were killed in a car accident.”

“Don’t be nice about it James.” Gwen said softly her voice still rather shaky. “They weren’t.”

The others stared at her. This was the first time Gwen had ever said anything remotely kind to me.

“They told her that they’ll look after Ivy, her little sister, but Gwen is to find other arrangements for the summer.” I finished explaining.

No words were spoken. The only sound that could be heard were Gwen’s soft sobs.

“I’d say come live with my family.” Louis said. “Vic just moved out to live with Teddy. The only problem is we live in France and mostly speak French.”

Gwen nodded knowing that wasn’t a reasonable option.

“We all know how my dad is.” Molly muttered.

She was right. Uncle Percy, although less of a prick than he had been based on the stories I’d heard, was rather uptight and I couldn’t imagine him allowing someone else to move into their house. No matter the circumstances.

“I’ll go see McGonagall later in the day.” I told Gwen. “See if I can go see Mum and Dad and speak to them.”

She nodded but moved closer to me. She didn’t want me leaving right now. Thankfully it was a Saturday so we didn’t have class.

Molly and Louis got up from Louis’ bed and began to head to the door. I looked at them confused as to why they were leaving.

“We’re going to go see Professor Longbottom.” Molly said before the two left.

That made sense. Maybe Neville would be able to help. He would certainly be able to help me speak to McGonagall about speaking to Mum and Dad.

“Are you sleepy?” I asked Gwen.

She nodded before turning to lie down in my bed. I went to get up so she could rest. I wasn’t going to leave. I was just going to sit with Fred while she rested.

“Don’t leave me.” She said.

She sounded so scared. Her eyes, the pale blue from before was growing even lighter until it was nearly white.

“I’m just going to sit with Fred.” I explained.

She looked at me. I could see she was about to cry again. I looked at Fred who jerked his head in Gwen’s direction. He wanted me to listen to her. I looked down at Gwen again before lying down next to her and wrapping my arms around her again. She snuggled in my chest and fell asleep.

I was amazed by how she was acting. I’d never thought this would happen. Never. It didn’t take long before I fell asleep too.

* * *

The next time I woke up the first thing I saw was both Professor Longbottom and Professor McGonagall looking at me. Neither of them looked very happy. I opened my eyes and moved to get out of my bed to speak to them when an arm pull me closer. Okay. Gwen was a little bit clingy when she was sleeping. At least, I’m pretty sure she was still sleeping.

I shuffled around enough so that I could sit up to talk to the professors. I knew it was probably a better position for me to be in than lying down. After I sat up Gwen began to shuffle around so her head was in my lap. I’m not sure why she did that but I began to pet her head. I think it was a comfort thing for both of us.

“James Sirius Potter, would you mind explaining what’s going on?” Professor Longbottom asked me.

He was clearly unimpressed by the position they had found Gwen and I in. He was probably still unimpressed with the position we were currently in.

I looked over at Fred who was sitting on his bed watching what was going on. It didn’t take long for Fred to realise I wanted him to give Professor Longbottom Gwen’s letter. As Fred got up, letter in hand, I began to explain the situation to the professors.

“Last night I couldn’t sleep properly so I went down in the common room to…stretch my legs in hopes that I could fall asleep afterwards.” I told them. “When I got down there I found Gwen in the corner, almost crying but not letting herself. She showed me this letter. I stayed with her as she was very upset by the whole situation. This morning we came up into the dorm with Fred, Louis, Molly and Parker so I could tell them what happened.”

“Professors, both Fred and I have been in the dorm with them all morning if that’s what you’re worried about.” Parker said quickly.

The professors took in turns reading the letter then looked at Gwen. Fred and Parker both looked at Gwen and I. They were surprised she was still asleep. They didn’t think she would be able to stay asleep though all the talking that was going on. They also didn’t think she would be able to stay asleep through the constant petting of her head. But somehow she was.

“Well, it appears we have some rather interesting circumstances.” Professor McGonagall said. “I thought we had stopped dealing with this sort of situation after the war ended.”

“Things like this are always going to happen.” Professor Longbottom responded.

“Please, would it be possible for you to get Dad to come here?” I asked them. “I want to speak to him but I really don’t think I should leave Gwen right now.”

Professor McGonagall turned to Professor Longbottom. I could tell she agreed with my second statement. I think she had worked out why I wanted to speak to Dad as well.

“Neville, if you would go fetch Harry.” Professor McGonagall said. “There is another student I need to see right now who is experiencing the same situation.”

Carter. I don’t think he’d even crossed Gwen’s mind. I wasn’t going to be the one who mentioned him to her. I think she needs to come to terms with everything before she starts worrying about someone else.

I know Rose will certainly take care of him. Al will be there for support. Milla seems like she’d be a supportive friend. Not so sure about that Malfoy kid though. Who knows what he’ll do. Carter had friends though. He’ll be fine.

I watched as both Professor Longbottom and Professor McGonagall left. I was a little more relaxed now that I knew Dad was coming to Hogwarts. Hopefully he would see the similarities between the situation he was in and the one that Gwen is in.

I don’t know what I’d do if Dad can’t help Gwen. I can’t just leave her on her own. It’s not fair.

“What took you two so long?” Fred asked Louis and Molly when they came back into the dorm.

I had been so deep in thought I hadn’t even noticed them.

“We were telling Rose and Milla what happened.” Molly said. “Carter’s their friend, we thought they needed to know.”

“They’re heading down to the Slytherin dorms to check on him.” Louis explained.

“Is someone going to remind Gwen she has a brother?” Parker asked.

“No, don’t.” I said. “If you do she’ll start worrying about him and not give herself time. We can get updates about Carter from Rose and Milla. That way we’ll be able to tell her if she asks.”

They all stared at me. No one realised the extent I was going to in order to make sure Gwen was okay. I wanted her to be able to be the same person she was before. I didn’t want this to be too hard on her. She needed support.


	12. Carter

Best wishes? Were they actually kidding me? Who the hell writes a letter like that? Honestly I knew they didn’t like me much. Aunt Hazel even more so once I was sorted into Slytherin but still, have some decency. I thought we were family. Clearly family means nothing to these people. Absolutely nothing.

I’d shut myself in my bed. I knew it was immature but how else was I expected to react to this letter?

“Carter?” I heard Albus call out as two sets of footsteps entered the dorm.

Great they were both here. Did they bring the girls as well?

“It’s just us.” Scorpius tried.

“Rose and Milla are really worried.” Albus said.

“Well boohoo to them.” I snapped.

“Carter tell us what happened or we’re getting Professor Slughorn.” Scorpius said seriously.

They still hadn’t opened the drapes around my bed. At least they respected that much of my privacy.

“My parents are dead.” I said as I threw the letter I’d received out from my bed to the spot I knew my friends were standing.

There was silence. I knew they were reading the letter. What else could they be doing? Then there was shuffling. I heard them moving around the room and whispering to one another.

I decided enough was enough and flung back the drapes.

“What are you two doing?” I snapped at them.

“I’m writing a letter to my father.” Scorpius said.

I stared at him confused as to why he was doing that.

“Well James is probably going to ask Mum and Dad if Gwen can live with us.” Albus explained. “Seeing as Louis lives in France and I’m pretty sure your sister doesn’t speak French. Also Uncle Percy is a bit of a twat sometimes.”

“What about Fred and Parker?” I asked him. “Surely she’s closer with them than with James.”

“Parker’s a muggleborn so I think it might be too crazy with his parents.” Albus continued having heard all of this from James. “And honestly I think your sister would die if she lived with both Fred and Uncle George.”

“Why’s that?” I asked him.

“You know how bad Fred is?” Albus asked me.

I just nodded.

“Well Uncle George owns a joke shop.” He said.

I burst out laughing. Okay, he’s right, Gwen wouldn’t cope.

“Still doesn’t explain why Scorp’s writing to his Dad.” I said.

“See if he will let you come live at the manor with us.” Scorpius said as he attached the letter to his owl’s leg. “I honestly doubt it would make a difference space wise. We have like a hundred empty rooms.”

Both Albus and I burst out laughing at his exaggeration.

“I’m dead serious.” Scorpius said causing both Albus and to stop laughing.

We stared at him looking for any hint that maybe he was joking. He wasn’t.

“Your aunt and uncle are the worst.” Scorpius said as he flopped down on his bed.

“Your family isn’t perfect.” I told him.

“Never claimed they were.” He responded. “My grandparents are awful.”

“They’re pretty bad.” Albus added.

“Shut it Albus Severus.” Scorpius said.

Albus threw his pillow at Scorpius. I laughed at the two of them. No matter how terrible I was feeling, my friends could always make me feel better.

* * *

“Malfoy, Potter, there are some Gryffindors at the entrance asking for you.” Denver Bletchley, one of the third year boys, said as he came to the door of our dorm.

“It’ll be Milla and Rose.” Albus said. “I’ll go.”

Albus disappeared from the dorm. I wondered if they were going to be able to come here. I didn’t overly want to leave the dorm at the moment and the guys knew that. The girls were probably worried. We hadn’t spoken to them since I’d left dinner last night.

Scorpius just watched me. We still hadn’t heard back from his father. Perhaps he was thinking over what Scorpius asked. It would make sense.

“Oh my God Carter I’m so sorry.” Milla said as she ran into the dorm and threw her arms around me.

I froze falling back on my bed, Milla now lying on top of me. After an extended moment I wrapped my arms around her as well.

“Molly and Louis told us what happened.” Rose explained. “We wanted to come see you but we weren’t sure if we’d be let in.”

“How’s Gwen?” I asked after Milla had gotten off me, her face bright red after realising what she had done.

“I don’t think she’s coping very well.” Rose said. “Her and James were found in the common room asleep on the couch. Now she won’t leave his side.”

“But she hates James.” Albus pointed out.

“She’s never hated him.” I explained. “He just irritates her, a lot.”

We all just sat quietly. It was difficult to know what they were thinking. Honestly this whole situation wasn’t bothering me as much as I knew it would be bothering Gwen. I was worried for her. I know her. She’s probably shut down and won’t do anything.

“I heard that James convinced Neville to get Uncle Harry to come here.” Rose said.

Albus shot Scorpius and I a look. He’d been right. James was trying to convince his parents to let Gwen live with them.

“I’m sure Dad will love visiting Hogwarts again.” Albus responded sarcastically.

“Do you think we should go say hi?” Milla asked.

“We can go back to the common room to see him.” Rose said. “I know you want to meet him.”

“He’s my dad’s cousin.” Milla defended. “I’m not like some crazy fan.”

We laughed at her. We all knew she was just trying to make excuses. She had more reasons than that for wanting to meet him.

As our laughter died down an owl flew into the dorm. It was Scorpius’ owl.

“Father got back to me.” Scorpius said noticing the handwriting on the front.

He opened the letter and began to read it. When he finished he handed it over to me. I was curious as to why he was giving me the letter but I took it from him and began to read it.

_Scorpius,_

_Once you have finished reading this please give it to your friend I would like him to have all this knowledge as well if he’s going to be living with us. I have no qualms with him coming to stay. Potter doesn’t need any more children living with him, especially if he’s going to be hosting your friend’s sister._

_I have been avoiding talking to you about this for some time now. Your mother’s condition has not improved. It has really been getting worse. When I spoke to her about this she said to me ‘Draco you help that child. Maybe he will be able to help support both you and Scorp.’_

_Now I address you specifically Carter. You are welcome in our home. You need not worry about being too much of a bother. We have too much open space in the manor. My mother may not be supportive of us helping others however both Astoria and I believe it will be better for Scorpius and it may also assist in returning our family name to its former glory._

_I’m sure, being friends with both a Potter and a Malfoy, you have seen how differently people treat others based specifically on their name._

_If you would be willing I would like to understand further what exactly happened. Scorpius mentioned something called a car accident. I’m not sure what that is and I would like for it to be explained to me._

_I wish you both well in the rest of your year._

_Kind regards,  
DM_

Well he seemed nice enough. At least he didn’t say best wishes. I probably would have torn up the letter if it had been signed like that.

I was mildly surprised at how polite and how kind Draco Malfoy had actually seemed. Everything I’d heard about him made him sound rather terrible.

“Your father seems strange.” I eventually said to Scorpius.

“Comes with the name.” Scorpius responded with a shrug.

We looked at one another. Scorpius had been hiding all the stuff about his mother from us all. I wasn’t going to be the one to tell the others but he should do it. They should know.

I handed the letter back to him. I gave him a look urging him to tell the others about his mum. He just shook his head as he put the letter away in his trunk. I just shook my head in response and lay back down on my bed.

* * *

The girls decided to head back to the Gryffindor common room to say ‘hello’ to Albus’ dad. Soon after they left both Professor Slughorn and Professor McGonagall entered the dorm.

“Mr Smythe, Mr Potter, Mr Malfoy, I assume you know why we’re here.” Professor McGonagall said to us.

“Professor, I’m fine, really.” I said to them.

“What are you planning to do?” She asked me.

“My father has said he can live with us.” Scorpius explained.

She had already seen Gwen. I knew that much. I imagine that she had probably been shown Gwen’s letter.

“Are you sure that is wise with your mother’s condition?” She asked him.

Albus turned to look at Scorpius. He was confused.

“Well when you think about it what other option is there?” Albus asked getting over his initial shock of not understanding what Professor McGonagall was talking about in reference to Scorpius. “Gwen is probably going to end up with us knowing the rest of her friends. Uncle Ron still hates all Slytherins, he’s become worse towards me since I was sorted. And I don’t think Dudley would be able to cope if Carter when to live with Milla.”

“Father said it would be for the best.” Scorpius explained. “It would provide some distraction for me. And Carter and I will have one another’s support when, well, you know.”

Confusing crossed Albus’ face again. However this time it didn’t fade as quickly as before.

“Carter, you’re always welcome to come for a chat.” Professor Slughorn told me.

I was surprised Slughorn liked me as much as he did. I didn’t have a famous name or anything. And I really wasn’t that great at potions. But I suppose he was strange like that.

“Thank you Professor.” I muttered.

In all honesty I found Slughorn to be rather annoying. His favouritism of certain students was probably the biggest thing.

With that, both the professors left the dorm. I don’t think they were really worried about me. I’m completely fine. It’s not like I’m like Gwen. Well, based on what I’ve heard anyway.

After the professors were gone Albus turned to Scorpius and gave him a strange look. I really couldn’t be bothered with any arguments between the two of them.

“I need some sleep.” I told them. “If you’re going to argue please get the list of spells that Gwen says Molly uses. I really don’t want to hear your arguments.”

They both just glared at me before heading out of the dorm. Probably to go argue elsewhere but I didn’t really care. I just wanted to sleep.

* * *

“Oi, Carter, get up.” I heard Albus say as he shook me awake.

“What do you want?” I asked as I attempted to shove him off me.

“Fred said Gwen wants to see you.” He explained. “They’re waiting for us in the Gryffindor common room.”

“You know we can’t go in there.” I said sitting up.

“Apparently when you’re a Potter or a Weasley you can get special permissions to visit other houses.” Scorpius scoffed.

Albus grabbed my pillow and threw it at Scorpius. Albus really needs a better way of showing Scorpius he’s annoyed.

“Dad’s here, with Mum and Lily.” Albus explained. “They wanted to see Gwen. I reckon they just want to have all the family together.”

“So why exactly are Scorp and I invited?” I asked him.

“Gwen wants to see you.” Scorpius repeated Albus’ words from before. “Honestly don’t know why they’re letting me tag along.”

“Dad wanted to meet you properly.” Albus said. “You know, without Uncle Ron being annoying.”

“I don’t see why your dad cares about me.” Scorpius said.

By now I had gotten out of my bed and had begun changing out of the pyjamas I’d been wearing for the last couple days into something a little more presentable to see Albus’ parents.

“He wants to know my friends.” Albus said. “Both of you. It was easy with James; all his friends are our cousins. Well except for Gwen and Parker. But all four of the guys have spent time together over the summer. Gwen’s another story.”

“You know she burns all your brother’s letter without even opening them.” I told Albus once I was changed. “It’s kind of amusing watching her sort through her mail and throwing James’ letters in the fire. Well, it was. I won’t get to see that now will I?”

“No, you won’t.” Scorpius muttered. “Instead you’ll get to join me in avoiding Adeline when she comes over.”

“I don’t see why you hate your cousin so much.” I said to him. “She’s not half as bad as Felix.”

At that moment there was a knock on the door to our dorm. Before any of us could respond the door opened to reveal the dirty blonde hair of Adeline Nott.

“I heard something had happened.” She said to us.

“Yeah, something did happen and it’s none of your concern.” Scorpius said moving over to push her back out of the dorm. “Thank you for the visit but we would all prefer if you would leave us alone.”

Adeline flashed pleading eyes between Albus and I in hopes that we’d allow her to stay. Albus broke.

“Scorp, do you have to be so rude?” Albus asked.

“You don’t know her.” Scorpius said turning around to face Albus. “Besides, don’t we have to go see your dad?”

“Oh, is Albus’ dad here?” Adeline asked. “Surely I can come too. I want to see Roxy again. She seems to be avoiding me recently.”

“I wonder why.” Scorpius muttered sarcastically.

I hit him over the head with my pillow.

“Don’t you start attacking me with pillows too.” Scorpius said turning to face me.

He wrapped his arms around my middle and tackled me to the ground. The two of us were wrestling, rather terribly, when we heard laughter.

“Boys are so stupid.” Adeline said.

“Not all boys though.” Albus added.

Both Scorpius and I glared at the two of them before getting up.

“Fine, come with us then.” Scorpius said to her. “If Albus says you can.”

“I don’t mind.” Albus said with a shrug.

Adeline squealed and we decided it was probably best if we left and headed towards the door.


	13. James

After the professors left I stayed in the dorm. I didn’t want to lie down again. I wasn’t tired anymore. I couldn’t leave though. Gwen needed me here.

I was talking to Parker. Fred had left shortly after the professors. He was probably in another broom closet. He needed to learn some form of decency. Although I guess he was taking his position as the new Sirius Black to heart. From what I’ve heard Fred is acting rather like Sirius had.

“What are you going to when she stops acting like this?” Parker asked me.

I knew he was referring to Gwen being so clingy. He could tell how much I loved it. We both knew that eventually Gwen would recover from what had happened. Then what would she do?

Would she ignore me?

Would she hate me again?

Would she accept what had happened between us?

I was really hoping for the last one. I wanted her to not hate me like she currently did. It would make things better. I would hope more than anything that maybe one day she might actually agree to go out with me. But right now wasn’t the time.

“I just hope she won’t go back to hating me.” I said softly. “I don’t know if I could cope with that after this.”

“I understand that.” Parker said. “Hey, at least she notices you, even though it is mainly screaming.”

“What do you mean?” I asked him.

“He likes Molly.” I heard Gwen mutter. “She notices you Parker. You just aren’t as obvious as this idiot.”

She began to move around eventually sitting up and rubbing her eyes after indicating at me as she referenced how I act towards her. Both Parker and I could clearly see that her eyes were still blue.

“What are you talking about Gwen?” I asked her.

“She’s right.” Parker said. “How did you know?”

“You look at her the same way he looks at me.” She said indicating to me. “At first I wondered if maybe you just wanted to irritate her but then I remembered it’s not in your nature. Then after I went out with Louis I pieced everything together. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone, else.”

Parker just stared at her. He was surprised. We both were. I don’t think anyone had realised how perceptive Gwen could be. It wasn’t something people really noticed about her.

“How are you feeling?” I asked her after a moments silence.

“Could be worse.” She responded.

She smiled softly but I could tell she didn’t really mean it.

“Where are the others?” She asked.

“Fred’s probably with some girl.” I explained.

She just rolled her eyes. She told Fred a few how unimpressed she was with his actions. She wanted him to be more considerate yet he never listened to a word she said. It was surprised how little Fred actually listened to any of us really. We’d all tried to stop him acting that way.

“I’m not sure where Molly and Louis have gone.” I continued. “Probably the library if I’m making a guess.”

“What am I going to do?” She asked. “I’ve got nothing.”

“My dad’s coming.” I told her. “Professor Longbottom has gone to get him. We’ll talk to him and maybe he’ll be able to help.”

“What does he know?” She asked me her eyes narrowing.

“You really don’t know?” Parker asked surprised.

Gwen just looked at Parker. She was confused. It occurred to me then that maybe Gwen didn’t actually know anything about the Second Wizarding War. Maybe she didn’t know about the Battle of Hogwarts. She never did pay any attention during History of Magic.

“How much do you know about the Second Wizarding War?” I asked her.

“Nothing.” She said. “I never cared enough to read about it. I lived separate from the wizarding world growing up so it was never really discussed by my parents.”

“Only you would fall for the one girl who doesn’t know anything about your family, James.” Parker said with a laugh.

“What does he mean?” Gwen asked.

I noticed a flash of purple cross her eyes. She wanted to know.

“My dad, Harry James Potter, is known as the boy-who-lived and the saviour of the wizarding world.” I explained. “He was orphaned at one. That’s why he might be able to help you.”

Gwen stared in shock. I don’t think she had expected that. It did seem rather ridiculous when you didn’t know the whole story. But I wasn’t exactly going to tell her now. As Gwen stared at me Professor Longbottom returned to the dorm with Dad following after him. Dad didn’t look very happy.

“I promise I haven’t done anything.” I said to Dad when his gaze met mine.

He just watched me. Gwen had sat back up while I was telling her the story. When she noticed how nervous I was I felt her grab my hand. I was shocked by her actions.

“Don’t worry James, I’ve told Harry you haven’t done anything.” Professor Longbottom said before looking over at Parker. “Mr Peterson, I think Mr Potter would prefer to speak to his son and Miss Smythe alone.”

Parker nodded at Professor Longbottom getting up and heading out of the dorm. I’m pretty sure he went down to the library to see if he could find Molly and Louis.

“What is this about?” Dad asked me.

Gwen looked at Professor Longbottom. I could tell she wasn’t too happy with having to talk to more than one adult about this.

“Umm, Neville, could you possibly wait outside?” I asked Professor Longbottom nervously. “I think Gwen would prefer to just speak to Dad.”

Professor Longbottom just stared at me. He was surprised that I was addressing him by his first name while at Hogwarts.

“Sure, I’ll be out in the hallway.” He said heading back to the door.

I smiled at him as he walked towards the door.

“Thank you.” Gwen said to him sending him a small smile as well.

After Professor Longbottom had left the room Dad turned to look at us.

“Dad, this is Gwendolen Smythe.” I introduced. “Gwen, this is my dad, Harry Potter.”

“It’s lovely to meet you Mr Potter.” Gwen said quietly.

“You too Gwen.” Dad responded. “It’s nice to finally meet the girl that James doesn’t shut up about.”

I groaned not happy that Dad told Gwen about that. Gwen just laughed at what Dad said.

“It’s not like it’s a secret James.” She told me. “Albus told Carter and Carter told me.”

She explained before freezing.

“Carter.” She said softly.

“He’s with his friends.” I said quickly. “Rose and Milla will tell us how he’s doing later.”

Gwen just nodded before turning to look at Dad.

“So what is it you wanted to speak about?” Dad asked me. “Neville told me you needed to talk in person although he couldn’t tell me why.”

I looked over at Gwen to see if she wanted to tell him. She just shook her head. I don’t think she was ready to talk about it yet. I leaned over and grabbed the letter thinking it might be easier to just show Dad the letter rather than explaining. I handed him the letter and watched his face as he read through it.

As he read the letter he looked both sad and angry at the same time. I was a little confused. I wasn’t sure how he managed that expression yet somehow he did.

“I think I know what you want.” He said after finishing the letter and handing it back to me. “I’ll need to speak to Ginny about this.”

“Can’t you just bring Mum here so I can speak to her?” I asked him.

“Someone needs to stay with Lily.” He told me.

“We have like a hundred relatives.” I argued. “Can’t she stay with one of them for an hour?”

“James, you know that isn’t fair.” He told me.

“Stop, please.” Gwen told us. “I don’t want you arguing over me. If this is all too much trouble for you Mr Potter, I’ll figure out something else. Just please don’t argue over me.”

Both Dad and I stared at Gwen. I could see tears forming in her eyes again. Everything that was happening was terrifying her. I felt awful. I hadn’t meant to make her feel worse.

“Give me a few hours to talk to my wife and I’ll come back to talk to you two.” Dad said.

With that Dad headed began to head towards the door.

“James, can I have the map?” He asked me. “Don’t try to lie. I know you and Fred took it from my office.”

I just stared at him. I didn’t want him to have the map he wouldn’t give it back then how would I sneak around and cause trouble?

“I’ll give it back, I’d just rather avoid the students trying to get back to McGonagall’s office.” He explained to me. “I don’t need to be stopped every five steps.”

“Sure.” I said getting up off my bed and heading over to my trunk.

I rummaged through it and listened as Dad talked to Gwen.

“It will get easier.” He told her. “Remember that it won’t always feel like this.”

“I just worry about my brother and sister.” Gwen admitted. “Carter’s Albus’ friend and Ivy won’t be here until next year. We are all separated right now.”

“Your friends are the best people to help you.” Dad explained. “My friends were the ones that got me through everything. Don’t try to push them away.”

As I turned around, the map in my hand, I saw Gwen smile and nod at Dad. The blue in her eyes had faded and they were now their normal brown.

“James what did you do to her eyes?” Dad asked me having noticed the change in their colour.

“Actually, Mr Potter, it wasn’t James.” Gwen told him. “The two other girls in my dorm, not Molly, gave me a potion last year which messed with my hair but because of their inability to brew potions they messed it up causing this side effect. James and Fred actually helped me prank them.”

Dad smiled at me. He could tell that she wasn’t lying to protect me. I handed Dad the map and took my seat beside Gwen who once again leaned into me. It felt strange having her react like this but I was thoroughly enjoying every minute of it.

“I’ll be back soon.” Dad said heading to the door again.

We watched as Dad left the dorm and Professor Longbottom came back in not wanting to leave Gwen and I alone in the dorm.

* * *

I was surprised that Albus had brought both Scorpius and Carter with him. I knew Mum, Dad and Lily wanted to see him when they came back to the school and I suppose they would want to meet Gwen’s brother if she was going to be living with us.

It was a strange feeling. All the other students had been cleared out of the common room and sent down to dinner. Professor Longbottom had stayed with us and Madame Abbott had even come up to join us. All the Weasley kids who were at Hogwarts had all either remained in the common room or joined us from their own common room.

It was strange to see us all in one place. There was Dominique, who had decided that for once her family might be more interesting than her friends. She also believed that more rumours would be started if she didn’t attend as she was apparently removing herself from her family.

All my friends were there. Gwen, who had only left my side long enough to get changed sat beside me on the couch. Molly and Parker were sitting on the other couch next to us. Fred was off harassing his sister, Roxanne. Louis was over talking to Frank Longbottom, Professor Longbottom’s son and a close friend of our family. He was the year below me, in third year, and he seemed to be separating himself from the associations that came with his name, much like mine.

Albus had arrived with his two friends and another blonde girl who ran straight over to Roxy when she got here. It was strange to see Carter looking so normal. He didn’t appear to be affected by his parent’s deaths as Gwen was. When he saw Gwen and I on the couch he walked straight over to where we were sitting.

Scorpius and Albus stood awkwardly in the entrance not really knowing what to do. Eventually I watched as Albus spied Rose and Milla and the four of them met up occasionally glancing over at Carter who was now sitting beside Gwen.

It was all the younger kids, the first years, that were making up the crazy numbers that were currently filling the common room.

Roxy had now shoved Fred off her and was talking to the blonde girl that had come in with Albus. I could see Alice Longbottom, Frank’s younger sister, and Lucy, Molly’s sister, talking in a corner with the Scamander twins, Lorcan and Lysander, who were more close family friends of ours. Out of those four none of them were in Gryffindor. The two girls were Hufflepuffs and the two boys were Ravenclaws.

“Gwen, are you sure you’re alright?” Carter tried asking Gwen again.

“Carter I said I’m fine.” She sighed. “James has been helping me.”

Carter looked up at me and glared. I could tell he didn’t want someone else to be looking after his sister. He must think it’s his job. But how can this tiny thirteen-year-old possibly think he had enough power to protect his sister when he was coped up in the dungeons?

“You take care of her Potter.” He hissed at me.

Yes, that’s right, he hissed. This kid is mental. And that’s coming from me.

“I could never hurt Gwen.” I answered.

Gwen hit my shoulder softly causing me to laugh. Carter saw the smile that was forming on her face and decided to go back to his friends. He gave his sister a hug before walking off.

We watched Carter walk off. I noticed Gwen’s eyes lock on Louis and Frank as they stood talking. There was a brief flash of purple as she stared at them.

“Oh what I wouldn’t give to know what they’re talking about.” Gwen said.

“What do you mean?” I asked her.

“I’ll let you figure that one out for yourself.” She laughed.

Oh I was going to get it out of her. One day.

Mum and Dad decided to come over and see us. When they got here Lily, who had insisted she come to Hogwarts to meet her new sister, bounced over onto the couch next to Gwen. For an eleven-year-old Lily really did act like a small child.

“Do you really like my stinky brother?” I heard her whisper to Gwen.

I tried not to laugh along with Gwen as she tried to think of a suitable answer for Lily’s question.

“Your brother is very annoying, isn’t he?” Gwen asked in response.

I watched Lily nod excitedly before turning to look at Mum and Dad. They looked like they wanted to talk. Without Gwen.

“I have to talk to Mum and Dad.” I said to Gwen.

She looked at me and nodded.

“I’ll just talk to your sister.” She said.

I smiled before following Mum and Dad up to my dorm.

“You’re sure about this James?” Dad asked me.

“Gwen needs someone Dad.” I explained. “She’s hurt and she’s got no where to go. I don’t want to leave her all alone.”

“And you’re sure this isn’t just some ploy to get close to you?” Mum asked me.

“If it was anyone else I wouldn’t be sure.” I said. “I’ll get Molly to show you her notebook. Tell me then if you think she’s just trying to get close me?”

I didn’t want to listen to them. They clearly thought Gwen was just trying to come after me to get close to my family. It wasn’t like that. Gwen wasn’t like that.

I headed out of the dorm and back down to the common room. I walked over to where Gwen was still talking to Lily. They were both laughing at something one of them had said.

“What’s going on here?” I asked picking up Lily so I could sit down in her seat.

Lily frowned at being moved but smiled broadly when I offered her my lap to sit on. She jumped up and sat down.

“I think I’ve found my favourite Potter.” Gwen said as she smiled at Lily.

“Gwen was telling me about all the stupid things you’ve done.” Lily said with a laugh.

“I’ll write to Aunt Hazel and Uncle Harold and see what they say.” Gwen said to Lily. “Because there is also my cousin Felix. Although I’m pretty sure Ivy will be sick of him by the time term starts.”

“Gwen’s going to introduce me to her sister, Ivy.” Lily told me. “So I won’t get stuck with Hugo.”

I smiled at Gwen. That was nice of her. I suppose it was also to help her own sister but it was still nice of her to think about Lily.

“Maybe Felix and Hugo will become best friends and then we can be one close little group.” Lily squealed after turning back to face Gwen again.

“Yes, and all the Smythe siblings would be friends with all the Potter siblings.” I responded dully.

Gwen hit my shoulder again, careful not to hit Lily. I didn’t see what the problem was with us all being friends. Maybe it was the way I’d said it that made Gwen so irritated but I don’t think I’d ever really know. But really it was Gwen who had first introduced Albus to her brother and now she was going to introduce Lily to her sister. It was like she wanted our families to be friends.

“So you’re really coming to live with us?” Lily asked Gwen seeming rather excited.

Lily really liked Gwen. It was nice.

“Why don’t you ask your brother?” She said looking at me.

She didn’t know what I had talked about with Mum and Dad. For all she knew they could have been telling me that she had to find some other arrangements.

“We just need to show them Molly’s notebook.” I told her. “Then it should be fine.”

Gwen laughed while looked between us with a confused expression. Gwen’s eyes had flashed yellow. She was happy. It was good to see yellow again. She had worked out why we needed the notebook.

“Okay, two things.” Lily said looking between Gwen and I. “One, why does Molly’s notebook matter? And two, why did Gwen’s eyes turn yellow?”

Gwen laughed harder at this. So her eyes hadn’t flashed at all while I was with Mum and Dad.

“Some girls thought it would be funny to prank me last year but they messed up the potion so now my eyes reflect how I’m feeling.” Gwen explained. “Don’t worry though. James and Fred helped me get those nasty girls back.”

Lily laughed at this. She knew how bad some of mine and Fred’s pranks could be having been on the receiving end of many throughout the years.

“Molly’s notebook has all the reasons I won’t go out with your brother.” Gwen continued to explain. “It’s become a rather extensive list.”

There wasn’t anything I could do to defend myself. But right now, I didn’t think I wanted to. I was happy just sitting here with Lily and Gwen. It was nice.


	14. Gwendolen

It was strange. Even though I knew there was absolutely no chance of it happening as I stepped of the train I still hoped to see my parents standing there waving at me.

They weren’t.

As I looked around the platform James took my hand in his. He knew exactly what I was thinking.

He lead me over to where his parents stood with Lily. I smiled at the girl. She was so lovely and reminded me so much of Ivy. I hoped that Ivy wouldn’t be mad at me for being like a sister to Lily. Hopefully she wouldn’t mind.

“It’s lovely to see you again, Gwen.” Mrs Potter said to me.

“It’s nice to see you as well, Mrs Potter.” I smiled in return.

“Oh there’s no need for any of that Mrs Potter business.” She said to me. “Please just call me Ginny.”

“Likewise, call me Harry.” Mr Potter, I mean Harry, said to me.

I just smiled and nodded at them. I could never imagine my parents ever having been this welcoming. They had been so closed off.

It wasn’t long before I saw Rose, Albus and Milla walking towards us. That’s when something clicked.

“James, what’s Carter doing?” I asked him. “Where’s he staying?”

“Al said that he’s staying with Scorpius.” James explained.

I let out a sigh of relief. I couldn’t believe that I’d forgotten about Carter twice already in this whole mess. I was supposed to be the older one. I was supposed to be the one in control. Yet it seemed like Carter was that in this situation.

“Are Mum and Dad not coming?” Rose asked Harry and Ginny.

“They both got caught up at work.” Ginny explained. “We’re just going to drop James, Gwen and Albus’ trunks at home before we floo over to the Burrow. Mum wants to see everyone.”

Rose just nodded.

“Milla, Dudley said Aunt Petunia wasn’t feeling very well so he had to go see her.” Harry explained to Milla. “You’ll be coming back with us and staying with Rose tonight.”

I tried not to laugh as Milla also nodded. The Potters had expanded from their three kids to having three extra children with them.

One by one we were ushered into the floo and were told to go to Number 12 Grimmauld Place. When we got there we dumped all our trunks. I was told to put my trunk in Lily’s room for now and we’d talk more later that night.

After that we were sent into the floo again and reappeared at the Burrow. Stepping out of the floo into the Burrow was strange. The house although looked older it still seemed rather homely.

I cast my eye the room I was now in. It appeared to be a kitchen although it was all so crazy that there was no way I could work out anything. As I stood looking around James arrived and walked up beside me.

“Don’t worry, you’ll get use to the crazy.” He whispered in my ear.

I looked over at him. It was strange to hear him call something crazy considering how crazy he was himself.

At that moment an older woman with the same crazy Weasley red hair as both Molly and Ginny walked in. All the others who had been at the Potter’s place were there as well and this older woman began fussing over everyone.

“Oh Harry, Ginny, James, Albus, Lily and Rose.” She yelled running around and hugging all the people she knew.

Milla and I had stepped back to allow the family to greet one another. There was soft chatter coming from the group that was greeting one another.

As the older woman, who I now assumed must be Mrs Weasley, Ginny’s mum and the grandmother of all the hundreds of Potter and Weasley children, made her rounds a boy who was Lily’s age and looked a little like Rose came in.

Eventually Mrs Weasley made her way over to where Milla and I were standing. She looked us over before smiling and pulling both of us into a hug.

“You must be Milla and Gwen.” She said beaming at us. “I’m Molly Weasley, the first. It’s lovely to meet you.”

“You too.” Milla said happily.

She had obviously wanted to be a part of this family for a while, since she had found out she was related to the Potters. I on the other hand was still a little in shock at the warm welcome I’d received. I hadn’t expected it at all.

Before I had the chance to say anything Mrs Weasley bustled off and James came over to see what was going on.

“You alright?” He asked me.

“Yeah, it’s just a bit strange.” I explained.

“How do you mean?” He asked.

“I’ve never met my grandparents so I don’t know what it’s like.” I told him. “And my family’s so small. It’s just strange to me.”

“You should try to get use to it.” James told me. “We spend a fair amount of time here. Gran really likes seeing us all.”

I smiled at James before he lead me outside to where a giant table was being set up. There were a couple more Weasleys out here. I saw Victoire who I recognised from earlier years at Hogwarts. She was with Teddy Lupin who still stood with his instantly recognisable blue hair.

There was another older Weasley who I didn’t recognise, probably one of James’ many uncles and Mr Weasley, James’ grandfather.

I watched Harry and Ginny make his way over to the two older men who were setting up a giant table. James dragged me over to where Teddy and Victoire were talking.

“Well, well, well, Gwendolen Smythe.” Teddy said with a laugh upon seeing me. “Did James finally wear you down?”

“No, he’d like people to think that though.” I responded.

“So what are you doing here then?” He asked me however his eyes were on James a confused expression on his face. “James stop waving your arms like a lunatic.”

“James stop trying to protect me.” I said turning around having realise what he was doing. “I’m fine now.”

“I just don’t want you to shut down again.” James muttered.

Teddy and Victoire looked between us.

“My parents died.” I explained. “I’m staying with the Potters now.”

Neither of them said anything. We all stood in silence for a moment before I heard two people scream my name from behind me. I didn’t have enough time to turn around before two body knocked me to the ground.

“Molly, Louis, you saw me less than an hour ago.” I groaned. “Get off me.”

Molly and Louis got off and stood in front of me. Fred had come over and joined us as well. He send a smile around to everyone. Thankfully he was calm enough not to bull rush me. Wow, never thought I’d see the day where I thought Fred was calmer than Molly or Louis.

“Come meet all the aunts and uncles.” Molly said as she grabbed one of my arms.

I looked over my shoulder at James who just smiled at me. I was here with him and his family. Not Molly. I shouldn’t be dragged around to meet all of the family with her. I was living with the Potters.

“Calm down Gwen.” She said to me noticing my panic. “Your eyes are white.”

I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths in and out before opening them once again.

“And now you look human once again.” Molly stated before dragging me over to her parents. “Mum, Dad, have you met my friend Gwen?”

“Nice to meet you Mr and Mrs Weasley.” I said to the couple.

Honestly there were so many Mr and Mrs Weasley’s here it was going to be impossible to talk to any of them.

“You too Gwen.” Molly’s mum said. “You should really be calling us all by our first names though. I’m Audrey and this is Percy. The only ones you call Mr and Mrs Weasley are Molly and Arthur.”

I nodded at Audrey. It was nice that she was willing to help me differentiate between the many pairs of Weasleys.

“Gwen’s living with Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny now.” Molly said quickly after noticing her dad giving me a strange look.

“And why would that be?” Percy asked.

“My parents died about a month and a half ago.” I explained quickly before Molly could say anything.

I found it easier if I told people now rather than someone else doing it. It just made more sense to me.

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Percy said before turning back to Audrey.

Molly dragged me off.

“Sorry about Dad.” She whispered once we’d walked off a little. “He can be a bit of a twat sometimes.”

“Talking about my prat of an older brother are we?” Another one of the many Mr Weasley’s said.

“Uncle George.” Molly said smiling. “Yes, we were talking about Dad. This is Gwen. Gwen, this is Uncle George, Fred’s dad.”

“Nice to meet you George.” I said with a smile.

“You too Gwen.” George responded. “So you’re the girl James is obsessed with?”

“He’s kind of my stalker.” I joked. “Well, he used to be anyway.”

“And now?” George asked.

“Now I live with Potters.” I said.

George was a little surprised. I don’t think he’d expected that.

“My parents died.” I said quickly not wanting him to think strangely of me. “Well you know about Molly’s dad, bit of a twat as Molly puts it. Louis lives in France and I don’t speak French. I’m not all that close with Fred and Parker’s a muggleborn.”

“Ah, I see.” George said. “Well, you’re always welcome with us if James annoys you too much.”

“Thank you George.” I said.

“Oh, you have to come meet Ange.” George said as he began to walk off.

I looked at Molly who indicated that I should follow. I dashed off after George. We headed over to where a woman who looked almost exactly like Roxanne was sitting.

“Ange, this is that girl James is crazy about, Gwen.” George said to his wife.

“Hello Gwen, nice to meet you.” She said smiling at me. “I’m Angelina.”

“Lovely to meet you Angelina.” I smiled in response.

I was glad I didn’t have to explain why I was here to Angelina as Molly dragged me off to meet more people. Oh fun.

“This is Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur.” Molly said as we reached the next couple.

I could tell immediately that these were Louis’ parents. Fleur had the same blonde hair as Louis did however most of Louis’ other feature were an exact replica of his father’s.

“Nice to meet you Bill, Fleur.” I said. “I’m Louis’ friend Gwen.”

They both smiled politely at me.

“We were very sorry to hear about your loss.” Bill said. “Louis owled us to ask if you could have Vic’s room if Harry was too stubborn. It’s always open if you need it.”

“Thank you.” I responded politely.

I was glad Louis was thinking of me. It was nice that even though he hadn’t needed to, he had still contacted his parents.

Molly dragged me away from Bill and Fleur over to the final Weasley who had been helping Mr Weasley set up. He was now talking to Teddy and Victoire. Oh fun.

“Uncle Charlie.” Molly called out and the man turned around and smiled at her.

The man, whose name I now knew was Charlie, excused himself from the conversation with Teddy and Victoire and walked over to where Molly and I were standing.

“Hey mini Mum.” Charlie said to her.

“Uncle Charlie, this is Gwen.” Molly introduced me. “Gwen, this is my Uncle Charlie.”

“Nice to you meet you.” I said with a smile.

I swear I have said that phrase alone nearly a hundred times today. It was getting rather exhausting. I honestly didn’t want to meet anymore people.

* * *

After the craziness that was dinner with all the Weasleys, I found myself being lead back to the fireplace and back to the Potter’s house.

Ginny told me I’d be sleeping in Lily’s room so I followed the younger girl up to the room I’d placed my trunk in earlier. Lily walked into the room and flopped straight down on her bed. I lay down on the other one and found myself fall asleep almost at once.

Meeting loads of new people and then being in the presence of a large and energetic family was really rather exhausting.

_I was in the car. We were driving along the road I knew so well. It was the way to Aunt Hazel and Uncle Harold’s place. It was really the only place we ever went._

_I was sitting my same seat as always in the back although Carter and Ivy weren’t by my side. I looked out the window as we drove down the main street towards our destination._

_I watched as we drove past my favourite café. The one on the corner before you turn off to go down their street. I smiled as I looked at the café as we entered the intersection._

_Then I heard a loud horn. I screamed. I watched as the side of the car was pushing in._

_“Mum, Dad.” I screamed._

_There was no response. I kept screaming hoping someone would hear me._

I felt someone shaking me. I could hear someone saying my name. When I opened my eyes I saw James standing over me his eyes rather wide.

I looked up at him tears forming in my eyes. He sat down on the side of my bed and I threw my arms around him and just cried. It was so real. I couldn’t imagine having actually been there. James just held me as I cried.

“Come on.” He said to me trying to help me up. “Let’s leave Lily to sleep. You can tell me about in my room.”

I saw him look at his parents who were standing in the doorway. Harry just nodded at James. I think he was agreeing to me staying in James room.

I watched as my stuff was moved from Lily’s room into James’. We sat down on James bed and I continued to cry. I could hear muttering from his parents in the doorway but I didn’t have the strength to listen.

Eventually I heard the door shut softly and I realised we were alone.

“Do you want to talk about it?” James asked me.

I shook my head. I couldn’t talk about it. I didn’t want to relive it.

The next thing I knew James was helping me up and over my bed which had also been brought into his room. I lay down and he moved to go back to his bed.

“No.” I said grabbing hid wrist. “Please don’t leave me alone.”

“I’m right over there.” He said motioning to his bed on the other side of the room.

“Please.” I whispered.

I watched him look over at the door quickly before crawling into the bed beside me. As I snuggled closer to him I closed my eyes and fell into a peaceful, dreamless sleep. Who knew I would actually feel safe with James Potter?


	15. Scorpius

“You’re certain your dad’s okay with this?” Carter asked me again as we stepped off the train.

All five of us were walking together. I think they were all interested to meet my father and thought that if they all did it together it would be better. Oh well, guess this is what’s happening.

I spotted Father. It wasn’t very hard. There wasn’t anyone else on the station with the same platinum blonde hair as us, unfortunately. I lead my friends over to him. Oh the joys.

“Scorpius.” Father greeted me.

“Father.” I responded. “My friends all wanted to meet you.”

I watched Father look over my friends. It was interesting. I couldn’t read his expression. After a moment of silence I began the introductions.

“So, this is Carter Smythe.” I said motioning to Carter.

I thought it best to introduce him first as he was the one who was going to be living with us.

“This is Milla Dursley.” I said motioning to Milla next.

She wasn’t so much of a problem. Father didn’t really care about blood status so much anymore so her being a muggleborn didn’t matter to him. Grandma was going to be another story.

I was a little nervous for the last two introductions even though I knew that Father already knew who they were. I didn’t know how would actually reach to be being friends with them. Sure I’d mentioned them in a passing comment every so often but now he was actually meeting them.

“This is Rose Granger-Weasley.” I said in a much softer voice than the other two indicating towards Rose.

I didn’t notice any reaction out of Father at her name. Although he could be awfully good at hiding his emotions when he wanted to.

“And this is Albus Potter.” I said motioning to Albus.

Again, no reaction.

“It’s very nice to meet you all.” Father said to them. “You’ll all have to come to the manor at some point. I think you might find spending time on the grounds rather enjoyable.”

I was surprised. I don’t think that anyone would have thought they would ever see Draco Malfoy inviting the children of the kids he use to bully into his house.

I watched them all smile at Father before Milla, Albus and Rose all said their goodbyes and headed off.

“I don’t see why you haven’t brought your friends over before Scorpius.” Father said to me.

“I was worried you wouldn’t like them.” I muttered looking down at my feet.

“I put all my old beliefs to bed.” He explained. “Any grudges I held at school were due to those beliefs. It was no use holding on to them anymore.”

“Yes, sorry Father.” I said.

“Now grab hold.” He putting out his arm. “You too Carter.”

Both Carter and I took hold of his arm and we apparated back to the manor.

When we reached the entrance I saw Grandma waiting for us. She smiled warmly at me and pulled me into a hug.

“Who’s your friend Scorpius?” She asked me.

“This is Carter Smythe.” I told her. “He’s going to be living with us now. Carter, this is my grandmother, Narcissa Malfoy.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs Malfoy.” Carter said.

“There’ll be none of that Mrs Malfoy business.” Grandma said, pulling him into a hug. “It’s Narcissa.”

Carter just smiled at her. I think he mentioned something about not knowing his grandparents. Well this was going to be an interesting change.

“How’s mother?” I asked.

Father just shook his head and lead both Carter and I upstairs to the room that he and her shared. It was absolutely dreadful to see her. She was so thin and sick looking. It was awful.

“Mother?” I asked.

I noticed her turn her head slightly and look at me. She smiled over at me. Carter was still by my side not knowing where else to stand.

“This is my friend Carter.” I said to her softly.

I knew she had always wanted to meet my friends. She’d never really been strong enough since the day they first dropped me at the station. She hadn’t been able to come to meet them. So Carter coming here was probably a good thing. She got to meet one of my friends without going anywhere.

“It’s nice to meet you Mrs Malfoy.” Carter said to her.

“Call me Astoria.” She said to him. “It’s lovely to meet you too Carter. I’ve always wanted to meet Scorpius’ friends. He just worries about you all treating him differently if you found out.”

“It would be no worse than they treat me.” He said. “I lost both my parents and my aunt and uncle told me they didn’t want me or my sister.”

“Carter’s going to stay with us during the breaks Mother.” I explained.

“Be good to him Draco.” Mother told Father.

* * *

“Scorp maybe think this through a bit more.” Carter told me.

I didn’t want to hear it. If I wanted to dye my hair brown then I would dye my hair brown.

Okay, so maybe I wasn’t coping as well with the death of my mother as Carter had coped with his parents deaths. But at least I wasn’t pulling a Gwen and completely shutting myself off from everything and everyone.

“What does Draco say about this?” Carter asked me.

We had managed to get out of the manor without Father noticing. Although that wasn’t too difficult at the moment. He wasn’t really leaving the library. We’d see him at meals then he’d disappear back into the library. Thankfully Grandma was living with us. If she wasn’t I don’t know how Carter and I would be fairing. Sure there were the house elves. But still, we needed to interact with a human adult.

“He doesn’t know.” I said.

We had taken the floo to the Leaky Cauldron and were now walking through muggle London.

“I still don’t think this is the best idea.” He said. “Surely there are other ways to make yourself different from your father.”

Honestly I couldn’t think of anything else right now. People always saw me as a miniature version of my father and I hated it. At least I didn’t go into a strange depression every time someone made a comment. Not making fun of anyone, Albus Severus Potter.

“Let’s just see how it goes.” I said.

“Well, this is the store.” Carter said.

We had arrived at the chemist. I wanted to do this the muggle way because Carter said he knew how and he didn’t think that it would be the normal stupid blonde in such a quick time.

We went inside and started looking through the shelves. There were all sorts of weird muggle things all over the store. There were all these brightly coloured boxes lining the shelves. They had images of all sorts of areas of the body.

“What in the name of Merlin are these for?” I asked Carter.

“Pain relief.” He muttered.

“Why are there so many?” I asked.

“Different types of medicine for different types of pain.” He explained. “They target different areas in the body and take different amounts of time to act.”

I was so confused. None of this made sense. Why couldn’t there be one type that just worked for everything.

“Here we are.” Carter said eventually.

In front of us was an entire shelf of boxes. Some were red, some were white, there were a few that were blue and some that were black. The one thing that most of them had in common were that there was a picture of a woman on the front.

“The colour of the hair on the box is the colour that it’s marketing it as.” Carter explained. “It will probably look different on your hair. There is never anyway to tell exactly what it will look like on someone’s hair.”

I looked over the boxes. There were so many options.

“What do you think?” I asked Carter completely overwhelmed with the amount of choices.

“Well there’s this.” He said picking up one that had a woman with light brown hair on the front. “It doesn’t cost too much, remember we’re using my muggle money, and I think I read somewhere that you shouldn’t put anything too dark onto blonde hair because it won’t come out the way you expect.”

“So you’re saying if I put a black dye on my hair it won’t be black?” I asked.

Muggle products made no sense. How were you supposed to get the colour you wanted if it wasn’t going to be like the box?

“No, it probably won’t.” Carter told me. “We can try a darker brown if you want but I don’t know how well it will work.”

Carter picked up a second box. It was a slightly different colour.

“You pick.” He said showing me the two boxes. “Natural brown.” He waved the box in his right hand. “Or medium brown.” He waved the box in his left hand.

“Let’s just do the darker one.” I said grabbing the box from his left hand.

Carter placed the other box back on the shelf and we headed to the front of the store. He took the box from my hand and went to pay for it.

The woman who was in the store held some weird red light up against the black and white bar section on the box. She gave both Carter and I a strange look.

“It’s for my sister.” Carter said quickly.

The woman just nodded. She said a whole bunch of stuff to Carter that I didn’t understand. Wow, I really knew nothing about muggles. After the woman had handed the box, which was now in a bag, back to Carter we headed out of the store.

“That was weird.” I said as we walked back along the street to the Leaky Cauldron so we could floo back to the manor.

“It’s not very common for boys to by hair dye.” Carter explained.

I just shrugged.

* * *

Once we were back at the manor we dropped the box in my room before heading down to eat lunch with both Grandma and Father. Well, if Father left the library long enough.

Lunch was quiet. It had been since Mother died. No one really talked that much. We didn’t want to. There wasn’t anything to say.

Our other friends had been owling asking if they would still be able to come to the manor. I had said maybe next summer. I hadn’t told them what happened. I didn’t want to. I didn’t want their pity.

After we’d eaten we headed up to the bathroom, stopping to grab the box on the way. Carter opened the box once we were in the bathroom and opened up a piece of paper that had a whole lot of instructions on it.

“It says to wear old clothes you don’t mind ruining.” He said.

We looked at one another before dashing out of the bathroom and into our own rooms. Once we were both changed we met back up in the bathroom.

“Okay, it says to empty the colour crème into the developer bottle and shake well.” He read out.

I looked through the other things in the box. There was a small bottle. I placed that on the bench. That must be the developer. Then there was a small metal tube. It said Colour Crème on it. I opened both the tube and the bottle and began to squeeze the tube into the bottle.

“If you do it like that you’re going to waste some of it.” Carter said pulling the tube from my hand and running two fingers down it pinching it to get all the stuff out.

“How do you know how to do this?” I asked him.

“My mum rarely used her magic.” He explained. “I know how to live as a muggle if I need to.”

I just nodded and picked up the bottle once Carter had put the lid back on. I began to shake it.

“Do you think it’s all mixed together?” I asked after shaking the bottle for a while.

Carter looked up from the piece of paper with the instructions.

“Looks like it.” He said. “Now it says to put the gloves on and start to pour it onto your hair. So do you want to do it or do you want me to?”

“You do it.” I responded. “I’ll miss spots and there’ll be little blonde sections.”

I pictured it in my head. Oh it was bad. I started laughing. So did Carter. He must have also pictured it.

Carter pulled a tiny bag out of the box and then pulled some gloves from the bag. He put them on. They looked ridiculous.

“Those gloves are awful.” I said trying to stop my laughter.

“At lease my hands won’t turn brown.” He said as he balled his hands into a fist and released it making the strangest sound.

He took the bottle from me and began pouring it on my head. It smelt awful.

“Is it supposed to smell this bad?” I asked.

“It’s all chemicals.” Carter said. “So yes.”

It took a while but eventually Carter had covered my entire hair in the foul smelling stuff. I think at this point both of our eyes were watering from the smell.

“Now it says to leave it in for thirty to forty-five minutes.” Carter said looking at the instruction paper again.

“So what do we do?” I asked him.

“Talk, read?” He suggested. “As long as your head doesn’t touch anything it doesn’t matter.”

For the next half an hour we sat and talked about what we thought might happen next year. It was odd. We didn’t know what to expect. Second year had been chaotic enough. Who knew what third year would be like.

After the time was up we Carter looked at the instruction paper again.

“It says to just rinse it off until the water is clear.” He explained. “Well you have fun. I’m gonna go read a book.”

He left the bathroom and I sighed. I undressed and hoped in the shower. I began to rinse through my hair. It was weird seeing the water be a brown colour as it ran down the drain. Who knows how long I stood rinsing my hair but eventually it ran clear. I stepped out of the shower and looked at the instruction paper again.

Now I had to use the conditioner from the box. I rolled my eyes as I opened the packet and spread it through my hair. I don’t think it matters how well this is in my hair. Looking down at the paper it said I had to leave it in a three minutes.

I waited around for a little before stepping back into the shower and rinse my hair again. When I stepped out this time I scrunched up that stupid paper. There were no more steps. What else could this stupid muggle box make me do?

I got dressed again and went to find Carter. As I walked down the hall towards his room I passed Grandma who stopped when she saw me.

“Scorpius what did you do?” She asked me.

“Oh, just dyed my hair brown.” I said with a smile.

I have no idea what she was thinking because she just turned and walked off. I continued to Carter’s room. When I reached the room he was staying in I knocked on the door. Carter opened it and looked at me.

“You look ridiculous.” He said. “You’re going to completely blend in with everyone.”

“Perfect.” I responded. 


	16. Gwendolen

So I’d learnt that living with the Potters wasn’t so easy.

It had all seem really good at the start. Everything was happy. I was able to sleep with James beside me. Harry and Ginny didn’t really care that James would end up in my bed most nights as they knew it was just to stop my nightmares. I had been getting over the death of my parents and adjusting to my new life.

Well, I was until one day the Daily Prophet came in with the morning owl post and there, on the front cover, was a photo from the station at the start of the summer. In the photo I was standing beside James and he was holding my hand trying to comfort me.

That wasn’t the worst part. The worst part was the headline.

_POTTER’S HARLOT IS TAKING_

_What has started as mere speculation on the part of the public is slowly becoming more factual. It appears that a girl is working her way, not only into the heart of eldest Potter child, James, but also into the entire Potter family._

_On Platform Nine and Three Quarters as all the students were coming home James Potter, oldest son of Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived and saviour of the Wizarding World, was seen holding hands with a girl. This girl then travelled with the Potters, Rose Granger-Weasley and another mysterious girl, to the house that the Potters own._

_We have since discovered the identity of the girl who was so close to the eldest Potter child. Gwendolen Smythe is the oldest child of Kayleigh and Eric Smythe who recently passed away in a muggle car accident. Since the accident it appears that Gwendolen has moved in with the Potters while her younger brother Carter and sister Ivy are unaccounted for._

_Was the accident real? Are Gwendolen’s parents really dead? Or is she trying to worm her way into the Potter family?_

_We have discovered that during the previous school year Gwendolen was seen snogging none other than Louis Weasley, one of the Potter children’s many cousins. She has been reported as being friends with all the Weasleys in her year at Hogwarts however has been at odd with James Potter since their first day._

_It makes a person wonder if she hasn’t planned all this out for her own benefit._

Were they actually kidding. The stunt with Louis was nothing more than a ploy to get James to stay away from me. It wasn’t like I was playing Louis. I would have much preferred to stay with his family, not that the Potters weren’t wonder, but they lived in France.

I was glad they didn’t work out who Milla was. Although without them knowing they might think that she’s Albus’ ‘harlot’ even though that would be super weird. If they knew who she really was they wouldn’t actually care about her and what she was doing with the Potters because she’s family.

But oh yes, I’ve been planning this since day one. I wanted nothing else in life but to make friends with all the Potters and Weasleys so I could live with the Potters and scrimmage off their fame and fortune when inevitably killed my parents.

Honestly people could be so dumb sometimes.

“You alright Gwen?” James asked having seen the article when I put the paper down.

“It’s fine.” I said. “It’s all lies anyway.”

“Well you did snog Louis.” James said. “Even I saw that.”

“I didn’t snog Louis.” I told him. “It was an innocent kiss in hopes that it might get back to you and you would leave me alone.”

“Well I did leave you alone.” He shrugged.

“Sorry for hurting your feelings by doing that.” I said softly.

James just shrugged and put his arm over my shoulders.

“I shouldn’t have been as crazy as I was.” He agreed.

I rolled my eyes at him pushing his arm off me.

“You were a bit of a nightmare.” I told him.

“But I’ve stopped now.” He said. “And we’re actually friends now.”

“Yes we are.” I said with a smile.

“Then give me a hug.” He said opening his arms and throwing the newspaper on the table.

I jumped up from my seat and ran. I could hear him chasing after me. I hadn’t made it very far before James managed to catch me in his arms and throw me over his shoulder.

“James, put me down.” I yelled.

“Nope.” James said. “You live here now.”

“James put her down.” Ginny said walking out of the kitchen.

“But Mum.” James whined.

“Listen to your mother.” Harry said as he stepped out behind James.

“I don’t think you want your mum to yell at you again.” I said softly to James.

Upon realising that might be a result if he continued being crazy James dropped me and ran. I groaned having been dropped on the ground.

I knew James had returned to his room, our room, oh I don’t know, and I really didn’t want to join him so I made my way up the stairs to Albus’ room. I wanted to ask about Carter.

“Albus?” I asked knocking on his open door.

I was a little confused. Albus never had his door open.

“Gwen, hey.” He said. “What’s going on? I thought I heard yelling.”

“Oh, just James being James.” I said brushing it off.

“What did my brother do this time?” He asked.

“He picked me up and wouldn’t let me down until Ginny yelled at him.” I explained. “Then he dropped me on the ground and ran.”

Albus just laughed at me. I had to admit. It was kind of funny.

“Anyway, I wanted to ask if you’d heard anything from Carter.” I said.

“Yeah, he said the Malfoys are actually quite nice.” Albus told me. “Although the house is a lot quieter than what he’s use to. I think he misses you. Well, you and your family.”

“I miss him too.” I said. “He’s my little brother. But was able to hold himself together better than I did.”

“You’re different people, Gwen.” He said. “Don’t hold it against yourself.”

“Thanks Albus.” I pulled the younger boy into a hug.

“I drop you on the floor and you come crying to my brother?” James joked from the doorway of Albus’ room.

“I was asking about Carter you idiot.” I said getting up and hitting James on the head.

James just laughed. I knew he was just being silly but I couldn’t help it. I think it was just our sort of friendship.

* * *

I was really glad I got to see Ivy on the platform. I don’t know what I would have done if I hadn’t been able to see her. She’s my little sister. I missed her so much over the summer. She didn’t even get Mum and Dad to see her off. Instead she got Aunt Hazel and Uncle Harold being cold and distant.

“Thinking about your sister again?” James asked me.

“Of course I am.” I said to James before turning out to all the others. “You guys will have to meet her at some point.”

“Once we’re there.” Fred groaned. “I really don’t want to move right now.”

“What exactly were you doing over the break that made you end up like this?” Parker asked him.

“Dad wanted help testing new products.” Fred explained.

Louis, Molly and James started laughing. Even though I’d only met George Weasley once I could already tell that testing products for his joke shop would be mildly disastrous.

Then I heard the door to the compartment slide open and a voice say, “Gwen?”

I knew that voice. It was Carter. Upon realising who it was I jumped up and threw my arms around my brother. I had missed him more than anything. It had been absolutely dreadful not being able to see him over the break but after Albus told me about Scorpius’ mum I didn’t really feel comfortable sending owls to Carter.

“I missed you so much.” I said as I held him tightly in my arms. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you.”

“No, Gwen, it’s fine.” He said as he wormed his way out of my hug. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you. You needed more support than I did.”

If it was up to me I don’t think I would have let him go. But Carter didn’t love being hugged so I suppose I had to agree to his terms.

“How was your summer?” I asked still standing beside him. “Are you alright?”

“It was fine.” He said. “Scorpius needed someone. His mum died. I think me being there made it easier. Although he still did some stupid stuff.”

I couldn’t imagine Scorpius doing anything impulsive, which is how Carter made it sound. That boy had like zero emotions. He didn’t react to anything. He barely even batted an eyelash that time I had the three of them running out of the Great Hall for their lives.

Then over his shoulder I noticed Ivy and Felix. I was glad Carter had gone and found Ivy. I think we needed to all be together for a little bit.

“Ivy, Felix, come meet my friends.” I said smiling at both Ivy and Felix. “You met James already. This is Molly, Fred and Louis Weasley. And this is…”

“Parker Peterson.” Felix said sending a glare in Parker’s direction.

Now I’m confused.

“Felix.” Parker said looking at Felix.

Okay, what’s going on?

“You two know each other?” Molly asked.

“He’s my cousin.” Parker said looking at Felix. “I haven’t seen him in years though.”

“I knew you were the same age as Gwen.” Felix responded. “I knew there was something off when we stopped seeing you the same time Gwen went to Hogwarts.”

What the hell is wrong with Parker.

“You didn’t say anything when you read my letter?” I yelled at Parker.

There was no way he was getting out of this. He knew about my aunt, uncle and cousin and never said anything. I could kill him. I saw red. Literally. Sometimes when my eyes changed because of a really strong emotion that colour also clouded my vision.

“Gwen, calm.” Louis said.

That only made me more irritated.

“Your eyes are red.” Molly mentioned.

No kidding.

“I don’t care.” I shouted at Molly and Louis.

I really wasn’t in the mood for them to try to calm me down. Parker was getting on my last nerves.

“You read the letter they sent me.” I shouted at him. “It mentioned Aunt Hazel, Uncle Harold and Felix and even their last name. Either you’re incredibly stupid for not working out it’s the same people or you just didn’t care that we share a cousin.”

“You had enough on your mind Gwen.” Parker tried to defend himself.

“So finding out that one of my closest friends is my cousin’s cousin wouldn’t have made me feel better?” I yelled.

“Gwen, please.” James said trying to sit me back down.

“Shut it Potter.” I snapped at him.

Honestly do none of these people realise anything. This is a big deal. Parker could have been like family to me. Yet he chose to hide it. Does he have that little regard for me?

Okay, maybe I was over reacting just a little. I close my eyes and took a deep breath in. As I let it out I opened my eyes and heard a sigh from Molly, Louis, Fred and James.

“So Uncle Harold is your mum’s brother?” I asked Parker.

“How’d you work that one out?” He asked.

“Well your last name isn’t Garcia meaning your dad can’t be Uncle Harold’s brother.” I explained. “And you are not related to my mum in anyway so neither of your parents are related to Aunt Hazel. Also, you’re a muggleborn, and Felix, Ivy, Carter and myself are halfbloods because our mums are witches.”

Parker just nodded. My logic made sense to him. Which it should. Considering it’s logical.

“Look, I’m sorry Gwen.” Parker said. “I just didn’t want to make things any more confusing than they already were.”

“Well now you’ve just made things worse.” I told him.

James had grabbed my hand and was rubbing circles across the back of it with his thumb in an attempt to soothe me. I smiled at him before closing me eyes and leaning on his shoulder. I hadn’t slept well the previous night. Maybe I could catch up now.

* * *

“So what’s going on with you and James?” Molly asked me once we were in the dorm that night.

“I don’t know what you mean.” I told her as I began to change into my pyjamas.

“Don’t pull that.” She responded with a sigh. “I saw you two on the train. Holding hands, sleeping on his shoulder. You didn’t shout at him, except when you were mad at Parker but you shouted at all of us then. And all those smiles you two were sharing. It was becoming rather sickening to watch.”

I sat down on my bed and let out a sigh. I knew eventually I would have to explain a lot of what happened with us over the summer to Molly and the others. I just didn’t realise it would be right now.

“Look, nothing happened, really.” I said. “We just got a bit closer because I’ve been living with his family. I’m working out that he’s actually not as mad as I thought he was. He’s been really nice to me over the summer. We still fought a little, but a lot of that was because he refuses to clean his room and I refused to pick up his mess.”

“Wait, you stayed in his room?” Molly was shocked.

Oops. I’d forgotten to include that little fact. Maybe I should have told her earlier.

“Yeah.” I admitted.

“You so like James.” She squeal jumping up so she could come bounce on the bed beside me.

“No, it’s not like that.” I tried to calm her down. “I just couldn’t stay in Lily’s room like we’d originally planned.”

“Why not?” Molly asked ceasing her bouncing.

Oh no. I’ve dug myself a hole. I didn’t want to have to tell my other friends about my nightmares. It was a little embarrassing.

“We didn’t really have anything in common.” I made up. “It was easier for me to stay in James’ room.”

Molly just smirked at me. Oh no, she thinks I like James. There is no way I can see this ending well.

“I don’t like James.” I told her.

“You seem hell bent on denying it.” She told me. “Yet you haven’t given me any solid proof. You spent an entire summer with him. You shared a room with him. You said, and I quote; ‘he’s been really nice’ which is a complete change in your thoughts of him since before the summer.”

“Since before my parents died you mean.” I corrected.

I no longer had a strong disliking for James after he helped me when my parents died. His name no longer caused me the same irritation it had before. I hadn’t expect to be in this position but I guess this is where I ended up. And I wasn’t mad at it.

“You, Gwendolen Grace Smythe, fancy James Sirius Potter and I’m going to get you to admit it before the year is over.” Molly told me hoping off my bed and into her own.

“Sure you are Molly.” I said to her as I lay down in my bed and tried to go to sleep.


	17. Ivy

“You two have everything don’t you?” Aunt Hazel asked both Felix and I. “Because you know we won’t be sending you anything you’ve forgotten.”

Both Felix and I nodded. I don’t know why Aunt Hazel and Uncle Harold were so terrible. They seemed to care about one another but it didn’t seem to phase them if anything would happen to us.

“Enjoy school.” Uncle Harold said. “Write is there is anything really important. We are very busy people.”

We both nodded again.

Oh how I wished that Mum and Dad were here to see me off like they were for Gwen. Even with Carter they weren’t able to be here but they spent the night before fussing over him. Aunt Hazel and Uncle Harold were awful. They didn’t even try to be proud.

They said their final goodbyes and disappeared.

“Ivy.” I heard someone call.

I looked around in hope of finding who was wanted to see me. Then I noticed Gwen.

I dragged Felix over to where Gwen was standing with another family. They must be the Potters. She had told me all about them and what living with them was like. I was glad that she was happy. At least this way some of us were.

When we got over to where they were standing Gwen threw her arms around me. It had been so long since I’d seen her. I missed her so much.

“Ivy, I’ve missed you so much.” She said holding me close before stepping back. “How are you Felix?”

“Alright.” He muttered. “Mum and Dad have been getting on everyone’s nerves more than usual.”

“Sounds like them.” Gwen couldn’t stop smiling.

Her eyes were bright yellow. It was nice to know she was happy.

“I wanted you guys to meet Lily.” Gwen said indicating to a small red-haired girl beside her. “Lily’s also in first year. Sorry Ivy but Lily’s kind of become like another little sister to me.”

I laughed. Only Gwen would apologise for something like that. I honestly didn’t mind though. As long as Lily wasn’t terrible we could share my sister.

“Lily Luna Potter.” Lily said to me putting out her hand for me to shake.

“Ivy Anne Smythe.” I responded.

Felix just groaned.

“Don’t worry Felix, Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione should be here soon with Rose and Hugo.” Lily said to him.

Felix was confused. He was looking strangely at Lily. He had no idea what she was talking about.

“Hugo’s my cousin.” She explained. “He’s also in first year.”

I smiled at her.

“Come on, let’s get on the train.” A boy who I was sure must be James groaned. “I’m sure the others are waiting for us.”

It looked as if Albus had already disappeared. Probably gone to find Carter. I missed Carter as well. I really wanted to see him. Hopefully I would while we were on the train.

“Well I do want to see Parker again.” Gwen said.

James send her a glare.

“Come off it James.” She muttered hitting his shoulder. “I’ve spent all summer with you and I’ve seen Louis, Molly and Fred multiple times. It’s been ages since I’ve seen Parker.”

James smiled and lead her off to the compartment where they would meet the rest of their friends. I smiled watching my sister go.

“Come on, let’s get on the train.” Lily said.

She had said goodbye to both her parents and the three of us were making our way onto the train. We walked down the carriage until we found a compartment that only contained a boy with mousy brown hair.

“Sorry Lils, Mum and Dad were bickering again.” He said to Lily. “We were so late they sent Rose and I straight onto the train.”

“No problem Hugo.” Lily said as she sat down beside him. “This is Ivy Smythe, Gwen and Carter’s sister, and her cousin Felix.”

“Nice to meet you.” Hugo said. “I’m Hugo Granger-Weasley.”

“That’s a long name.” Felix muttered.

“Shut up Timothy.” I whispered to Felix.

He just groaned. He hated his middle name. Apparently he’d had a really annoying teacher at his muggle school whose name was Timothy making him hate the name. I’ve been told that the teacher was never able to stay and topic and always randomly talked about his love life. Like seriously, you’re a teacher, stop. It was still a strange reason to hate the name but I wasn’t going to judge him.

“How much did James annoy Gwen over the summer?” I asked Lily. “She didn’t really say much in her letters.”

“He’s actually been alright.” Lily said. “He’s been calmer than any other break and she doesn’t seem to hate him.”

That was strange. Gwen was always so irritated at James. Why had things changed now?

“Every time I saw them she wouldn’t leave his side.” Hugo said.

Okay, what happened to Gwen? Last time I saw her she couldn’t stand James.

“I heard from Al that Carter’s doing alright.” Lily told me eventually.

“He was never as close with Mum and Dad as Gwen was.” I said.

“What about you?” Hugo asked me. “How are you coping with it?”

“It’s different.” I said. “I guess having Felix really helped.”

“I wasn’t going to let you be mopey.” Felix said. “It just makes me feel sad.”

I shoved Felix and he let out a laugh. I saw Lily and Hugo smile. It was nice to have been able to make friends. It wasn’t long before I heard the compartment door open. I looked over and noticed a group of three people standing in the doorway

“Ivy.” I heard Carter shout at me.

“Carter.” I said getting up and hugging my brother. “I’ve missed you.”

“You too little sis.” He said.

He sat down beside me. I watched as the other two sat down as well. There was a boy and a girl with him. Neither of them was the blonde that Carter had told me was Scorpius Malfoy or the red-head that he had said was Hugo’s sister Rose.

“I’m Milla Dursley.” The girl said to me.

“Ivy Smythe.” I responded. “This is my cousin Felix Garcia.”

“I think you probably already worked it out but Albus Potter.” The boy said.

I smiled at Carter’s friends. They were nice. It didn’t surprise me one bit that Albus was a complete replica of his father. From what I’d heard from Carter all three of the guys in his group were like that. It was the one thing Carter hated more than anything. And I suppose his friends were the same so I wasn’t going to comment.

“Have you spoken to Gwen yet?” Carter asked me.

“I saw her on the platform.” I explained. “She introduced Felix and I to Lily.”

“How is she?” He asked.

He saw her when she had shut down and was trying to hide from the world. He hadn’t heard from her so he didn’t know how she was doing now.

“She was fine.” I said. “She was whining to James about wanting to see Parker.”

“I’m sure James loved that.” Carter said rolling his eyes. “He’s still not over the Louis thing.”

“What happened with Louis?” Hugo asked.

Carter, Albus and Milla all tried not to laugh.

“So I heard this from Molly but apparently Gwen convinced Louis to go on a date with her to Hogsmeade last year in order to try to get James off her back.” Milla explained. “While they were on the date James and Parker followed them so they watched everything, which is kinda weird but also exactly what was expected of James. Then Gwen kissed Louis. James didn’t see her pull Louis down to her so he thought Louis kissed her. The two haven’t spoken since.”

I knew about the fake date and everything but I didn’t know about the kiss. It was weird. I didn’t think Gwen was like that.

We all sat in silence for a while. We didn’t really know what to say.

“I want to go see Gwen.” Carter said eventually standing up and moving to the door.

“I’ll come, I didn’t really get to speak to her before.” I said following him.

“Don’t leave me with people I don’t know.” Felix said following us.

We walked along the train in search of Gwen and her friends. Carter had some idea of where we were going. Apparently Gwen always sat in the same compartment. Well, James made them all sit in the same compartment always.

When we reached the compartment Carter slid the door open.

“Gwen?” He asked.

When Gwen saw who was there she jumped out of her seat and threw her arms around Carter.

“I missed you so much.” She said to him. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you.”

“No, Gwen, it’s fine.” He said. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you. You needed more support than I did.”

“How was your summer?” She asked. “Are you alright?”

“It was fine.” He said. “Scorpius needed someone. His mum died. I think me being there made it easier. Although he still did some stupid stuff.”

I was confused. What would Scorpius have done?

“Ivy, Felix, come meet my friends.” Gwen said noticing both Felix and I standing behind Carter. “You met James already. This is Molly, Fred and Louis Weasley.” She indicated to the red-haired girl, the blonde boy and the darker skinned boy. “And this is…”

“Parker Peterson.” Felix said seeing the last person sitting in the corner.

“Felix.” Parker said looking at Felix.

Okay, what’s going on?

“You two know each other?” Molly asked.

“He’s my cousin.” Parker said looking at Felix. “I haven’t seen him in years though.”

“I knew you were the same age as Gwen.” Felix responded. “I knew there was something off when we stopped seeing you the same time Gwen went to Hogwarts.”

I knew everyone was confused. I know for certain that Gwen, Carter and I were. Felix had never mentioned another cousin. And I’d certainly never heard anything from Aunt Hazel or Uncle Harold.

“You didn’t say anything when you read my letter?” Gwen yelled at Parker.

“Gwen, calm.” Louis said to her.

“Your eyes are red.” Molly mentioned.

“I don’t care.” Gwen shouted at Molly and Louis before turning back to Parker. “You read the letter they sent me. It mentioned Aunt Hazel, Uncle Harold and Felix and even their last name. Either you’re incredibly stupid for not working out it’s the same people or you just didn’t care that we share a cousin.”

“You had enough on your mind Gwen.” Parker defended.

“I think we should go.” Carter said pushing Felix and I out of the compartment.

I nodded. Felix was shocked. He’d never seen Gwen angry before. Which was probably a good thing. An angry Gwen was not something that people should have to deal with on a regular basis. When Gwen got angry she was out for blood.

We made our way back to the compartment we had previously been in. The others were all still there.

“We should get back to our compartment.” Albus said when we got there. “At least make sure Rose and Scorp haven’t killed each other.”

“I think I’d be more worried about Scorpius being bald.” Milla laughed.

“She didn’t seem to like it too much.” Carter said. “Even had the nerve to blame me.”

They had shut the door before we could hear anything else they had to say.

“What was that about?” Felix asked Lily and Hugo.

“Scorpius died his hair brown with muggle box dye.” Hugo said. “It was something about not wanting to be a mini Draco anymore I think Albus said.”

“Apparently Rose had a fit and the others thought they should leave the two of them alone.” Lily said. “Not sure how that would help but they seemed to think it would.”

“I mean we walked out when Gwen started shouting at Parker.” I shrugged. “Although all their other friends were there.”

“Gwen shouting is rather scary.” Lily agreed.

“You’ve heard her?” I asked.

“Gwen and James living in the same house and sharing a room for two months.” Lily explained. “It happened at least once a week.”

“She shares a room with James?” I asked in shock.

I shared a room with Felix but that was different. We are cousins. Gwen and James are not. And from what I’ve heard James is in love with Gwen. I don’t see why Mr and Mrs Potter thought that was a good idea.

“She was in my room the first night but she started having nightmares.” Lily explained. “The only person who could calm her down was James. She won’t even tell anyone about them. Well, maybe James knows but if he does he’s been sworn to secrecy.”

“Sounds like Gwen.” Felix said.

* * *

I’d always tried to imagine to roof of the Great Hall when Gwen and Carter had described it to me. In my head it had always been amazing but it didn’t even compare to the real thing.

“When I call out your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted.” The teacher up the front told us. I’d been informed that his name was Professor Longbottom. I’d also been told he was a close friend of Lily and Hugo’s families. He seemed like he’d be a nice teacher. At least, I hope he would be.

I tried not to think about where I could be placed. Gwen and Carter were both in different houses and Mum had been in a different house to where both of them are. I could end up with one of them, in Mum’s old house or, even worse, all by myself in a house where I knew no one.

Lily and Hugo were so certain they were going to be Gryffindor. Both of them had two parents who had been in Gryffindor so it made sense. Also one of Lily’s brothers was there and so was Hugo’s sister.

Who knows what Felix was thinking. He really confused me sometimes. But still, I wasn’t as removed from him and Gwen and Carter were. I suppose being the same age we were closer than we would have otherwise been.

“Garcia, Felix.” Was called up.

I watched as Felix made his way to the front and sat on the stool. He didn’t look nervous at all which was strange. I thought he would have been. I was. I was terrified. After a short while the hat called, “GRYFFINDOR” and Felix got up and headed to the table I knew Gwen was at.

Oh no, that meant if I was placed elsewhere I wouldn’t even have Felix.

“Granger-Weasley, Hugo.” Was the next one from our group.

I heard a few whispers around the hall at his name. He smiled at Professor Longbottom as he sat down. Hugo wasn’t there for long before the hat called, “GRYFFINDOR” again. Hugo walked off and sat down beside Felix. Although the two of them were rather quiet I had a feeling they were going to be pretty good friends.

The next one from our group that was called was “Potter, Lily.”

She walked up to the front smiling. She too flashed her smile at Professor Longbottom as she sat down. Her sorting was probably the quickest I saw. The hat had barely touched her head before it shouted, “GRYFFINDOR” causing the girl to walk over and sit opposite her cousin. 

I was just praying more than anything at this point that I too would make it into Gryffindor. At least then I would have friends and my sister.

“Smythe, Ivy.” I heard.

As I walked up to the front I could feel everyone watching me. I sat down on the stool and felt the hat get placed on my head. Then I heard a voice in my head.

“You’re not a very complicated one.” The voice said. “I’ll put you in GRYFFINDOR.”

Yay. I was with my friends. I handed the hat back to Professor Longbottom, thanking him, and headed over to the table to sit beside Lily.

I noticed Gwen sitting further down the table. She sent me a broad smile and mouthed ‘congrats’ to me. I smiled back at her. It was nice that I got to be in the same house as my sister and my friends. At least now I could enjoy myself with the friends I’d already made.


	18. Carter

“I still can’t believe you did that.” I said to Scorpius as we sat in a compartment waiting for the others.

I was still on his case about the hair dye. I knew that he liked it but even the tiny bit of regrowth that he’d gotten since we’d don’t it was looking ridiculous and I knew that the more it grew, the more ridiculous it was going to look.

“I was sick of being told I look like a mini version of my father.” Scorpius responded.

I suppose I could understand where he was coming from. Scorpius Malfoy was his father in everything except personality. From what I could tell while the two shared some personality traits it was instantly recognisable that Scorpius was a much better person than his father had been at his age.

The only problem I’d noticed Scorpius facing was the fact that they looked almost identical. This caused nearly everyone to cast the same judgements over Scorpius as they had over Draco. That, along with the pain caused by the death of his mother, were the reasons Scorpius had dyed his platinum blond hair brown.

Well, he’d told me about the not wanting to look like his dad part. I’d assumed the other half of it.

“Now you just look like everyone else in our year.” I tried to tell him again. “Besides, I don’t see anything wrong with looking like your dad. He’s a pretty decent guy.”

Scorpius gave me a look that meant trouble. He knew my opinions of his father. He knew that I liked the man. He just couldn’t work out why.

Before Scorpius had a chance to question me the compartment door slid open to reveal Rose and Milla.

“Carter, what did you do to Scorpius?” Rose asked as she and Milla sat down.

“Hey, this one wasn’t me.” I defended.

I understood why he thought it was me. I had enjoyed turning both his and Scorpius’ hair Weasley red. It had been pretty funny.

“Besides Scorpius and Albus looked great as Weasleys.” I laughed. “I thought you agreed with that much Rose.”

It didn’t take long for both the girls to join me in my laughter. I knew that the girls had found it amusing when the boys had red hair. I suppose they liked seeing both Albus and Scorpius looking less than perfect. Although I’m not too sure why they were so mad. The red hair made them both look rather different to their dad’s.

“What happened to your hair?” Albus asked Scorpius as he stood in the doorway.

He had gotten to the compartment while the girls and I were laughing at Albus and Scorpius as Weasleys.

“He was sick of being a mini Draco.” I explained. “Personally I didn’t see an issue with it. Draco Malfoy has been nothing but kind to me.”

“I can talk for myself you imbecile.” Scorpius said giving me a shove.

The entire compartment burst out in laughter. He really didn’t like me saying nice things about his dad.

As the train began to move I looked around at my friends before realising something.

“I should really go find Ivy and Gwen.” I said getting up from my seat.

I hadn’t seen them in ages, Ivy longer than Gwen, and I really should see them. I looked over at Albus and Milla. I wanted more than anything to leave Rose and Scorpius together. They clearly needed to sort some things out, some to do with Scorpius hair, mostly to do with the throw away comment Scorpius made last year about Rose becoming Rose Malfoy.

“I want to go meet Ivy.” Albus said getting up as well. “She’s probably going to end up spending more time with my family in the future, you know, what with Gwen becoming so close with James now.”

“Ooh, I wanna meet Ivy too.” Milla said.

Good, they both worked out what I was trying to do. I got a glare from both Rose and Scorpius. They didn’t want to be left alone. Well tough luck.

“Bye, see you later.” I said as we ducked out of the compartment.

* * *

“We should get back to our compartment.” Albus said to Milla and I once I’d returned from my trip to visit Gwen with Felix and Ivy. “At least make sure Rose and Scorp haven’t killed each other.”

“I think I’d be more worried about Scorpius being bald.” Milla laughed.

“She didn’t seem to like it too much.” I said. “Even had the nerve to blame me.”

“Well you didn’t exactly stop him from doing it now did you?” Milla asked me.

“I may have actually been the one to put the dye in his hair.” I admitted.

Milla began hitting me.

“Why would you do that?” She screeched.

“He wanted it to be brown.” I told her. “I wasn’t exactly going to shut him down. Not after everything else.”

Milla was silent. I didn’t have to actually say it. She understood.

“How bad did it get?” Albus asked. “Gwen level?”

“Not Scorpius, he was alright.” I said. “We still talked. He wasn’t like I was though. Didn’t bounce back immediately. It took him a couple of days but he never shut everything out. Draco was another story. He locked himself in the library. If Narcissa hadn’t been there I don’t think he would have eaten or even interacted with me or Scorpius. It wasn’t nice.”

They both just nodded. It was hard to talk about how Draco had reacted to his wife’s death. I knew their marriage had been and arranged one but I also knew that the two of them had grown to love one another very much. It had been hard to see a grown man so heartbroken like that. He was still young. He didn’t deserve to be going through all that.

We had reached the compartment.

“Please don’t say anything about what I told you.” I told the others. “I don’t think Scorp wants you all to know how badly his dad is coping.”

Again they just nodded. There wasn’t anything really to say to my request but I knew it made perfect sense to them. Scorpius was very closed off. He didn’t like talking about his feelings. He preferred people to think he didn’t have any.

I opened the compartment door and saw Rose and Scorpius sitting rather close to one another. As soon as they realised that we were there they moved as far apart as they could without actually standing up.

“Oh no, don’t move apart for us.” I said to them. “As you were.”

I clapped my hands at them in hopes that they would return to their previous positions. They didn’t. Milla had a better idea. She walked over to where Rose was and indicated for her to move down so the two girls could sit beside one another. This mean that Rose was almost as close to Scorpius as she had been before. I call that a partial success.

“I see you’re both still alive.” Albus commented.

They gave him a strange look. I don’t they realised how bad some of their arguments could get. It was a rational fear for us to have. The two of them being left alone could be nuclear.

“Scorp still has his hair as well.” Milla commented looking over at Scorpius.

Albus, Milla and I all started laughing at this. It was a little amusing.

“Okay what are you three talking about?” Scorpius asked us.

“We were speculating what the compartment would be like when we returned.” I explained. “Albus thought you’d have killed each other and Milla thought Rose would have pulled Scorp’s hair out.”

“You lot are crazy.” Rose muttered.

We started laughing again. It was kind of funny.

Then the compartment door opened again.

“Hey, sorry to bother you guys.” Adeline said looking over at Scorpius, her eyes widening at the sight of his now brown hair. “How are you going? How’s Draco?”

Scorpius looked over at me. I don’t think he really wanted to talk about it. I think that look mean I could explain.

I shuffled down on the seat creating space between Albus and I. Adeline understood what I was doing and shut the door coming to sit in the space for her.

“I’m fine Addie.” Scorpius said.

“Your hair definitely screams fine.” Adeline said.

“Leave him be.” Albus said.

Adeline rolled her eyes.

“I was just concerned for my cousin.” She explained. “Mum’s been completely out of it. Dad has to force her out of her room some days. We’re all worried about you and Draco though. I imagine Narcissa would be fine. She doesn’t seem like one to let these sorts of things bother her.”

“Grandma’s fine.” Scorpius said. “We’re all fine.”

Adeline looked over at me. She’d found out I was living with the Malfoys. I think she thought I would give her information that Scorpius wouldn’t. I looked over at Scorpius who just nodded at me.

“Scorpius has been fine, really.” I told her. “Draco on the other hand has been shutting himself up in the library. He only eats because Narcissa makes him come down for meals. I think it might be a good idea for your dad to try to talk some sense into him. He’s almost Gwen level bad.”

Adeline was confused by my final statement. Sure she knew of Gwen. Who didn’t? Aside from the Potters and Weasleys, Gwen was one of the most well known girls in the school. Partly because she was friends with a fairly large group of Potter and Weasley children but mainly because of James’ obsession with her.

“Gwen completely shut down when her parents died.” Rose began to explain. “It was rather dreadful. She barely spoke to anyone. She kinda just sat in either her dorm or James’ dorm and moped.”

“She got better over the summer though.” Albus continued. “Less moping, more messing with James. She still has a bit of trouble. Mainly the mornings after…”

Albus trailed off. I was confused. Was there something we shouldn’t know? I’d have to ask him later. Gwen’s my sister after all. He should be able to tell me at least. Although, maybe Gwen swore him to secrecy.

“Did you see that article about her in the Daily Prophet?” Adeline asked us. “I couldn’t believe some of the things they said about her.”

Albus started laughing.

“What happened?” I asked him.

“Gwen was rather annoyed at the article.” Albus explained. “She had a little argument with James which ended with him chasing her around the house and throwing her over his shoulder. Apparently he refused to let her down until Mum told him to. Then he just dropped her on the ground and ran.”

“I’m sure she loved that.” I laughed.

“What was James thinking?” Milla asked. “I know he doesn’t seem very clever but dropping her.”

“Yeah, I know.” Albus said.

We were all laughing at James now. It was kind of amusing. Sometimes I didn’t know what was going on between him and Gwen. She didn’t seem to hate him anymore which was good for him.

“Well, I’ll send Dad an owl, Scorpius.” Adeline said standing up. “He might be able to help Draco.”

“Thanks Addie.” Scorpius muttered.

“You don’t have to leave.” Albus told her.

“I really should be getting back to Roxanne.” Adeline said smiling at Albus. “She and the others are expecting me back.”

“The others?” Rose asked.

“Alice, Lucy, Lorcan and Lysander.” Adeline said. “I’ve found that group’s a whole lot better than the Slytherin girls. All they want to talk about is how attractive you lot are and I don’t find myself enjoying that sort of conversation.”

She had motioned to Albus, Scorpius and I as she talked. I tried not to laugh as she waved goodbye and left the compartment. As soon as the door was closed though all five of us burst out in laughter. We couldn’t believe that we were the main topic of conversation with the Slytherin girls the year below us. It was rather amusing.

* * *

Albus and I were sitting in the dorm. Fletcher hadn’t made an appearance yet and Scorpius was in the shower. I thought now was the best time to ask Albus about Gwen.

“Hey, Al, what were you going to say on the train about Gwen?” I asked him.

“What do you mean?” He questioned.

“She only has trouble the mornings after something.” I said. “You stopped. What wrong with her?”

Albus looked around the dorm as if expecting to find someone. Then he moved over to sit beside me on my bed. Clearly it wasn’t good if he was acting like this. I was worried about Gwen. Although she seemed fierce she was fairly easy to break. I didn’t want anything to hurt her.

“Well on the first night Mum and Dad had put Gwen in Lily’s room.” Albus explained. “James and I aren’t allowed to share a room you see. Dad seems to think we’ll destroy the house. And well, Lily’s a girl so Mum and Dad put Gwen in there.”

“Great, sleeping arrangements.” I said sarcastically while rolling my eyes. “What has this got to do with anything?”

“Everything.” Albus said. “Well, that night Gwen had a nightmare. She started screaming in her sleep. She woke Lily up who ran straight to Mum and Dad crying. James and I also woke up. I was a little confused but James ran straight to Gwen. He was able to calm her down. Gwen was moved into James’ room after that. She still gets nightmares although she no longer wakes up the whole house with her screaming.”

“What makes them better now?” I asked him.

“James.” Albus admitted. “Some mornings Lily and I would get told to wake James and Gwen up and we’d find them both in one of their beds rather than separate. Mum and Dad knew about it of course. They don’t really mind because they know why it happens and they also know that James would never do anything to her.”

I just nodded. I could understand why Gwen was like that. She used to join me in my room when she couldn’t sleep. Ivy was the same, crawling into either mine or Gwen’s beds. Sometimes all three of us would end up in one bed. that mainly happened when there were bad storms though.

“It was a bit of a shock the first time I had to wake them up and I found them like that.” Albus continued. “It’s not like they just sleep beside one another. They’re always completely wrapped up in one another.”

“Gwen can be a bit clingy.” I said.

She’d always been like that though. She never wanted someone to leave her alone. I knew being alone was her biggest fear. I was just glad she had someone who made her feel safe.


	19. Molly

After Gwen had refused to answer any more of my questions about her new relationship with James we both went to sleep. As always I cast my many silencing spells around my bed. Kendall and Juliet hadn’t gotten back to the dorm yet and I knew they were going to be incredibly loud with their gossip.

I don’t know how long I was asleep for before I was been shaken awake.

“Weasley, what in Godric’s name is wrong with Smythe.” Kendall shouted at me.

I got up and stepped out of my cocoon of silence only to be confronted with screaming.

“Gwen, Gwen wake up.” I tried shouting at her and shaking her.

“It doesn’t work.” Juliet muttered. “We tried for ages.”

I looked around franticly before running out of the room. I went straight to Lily’s room. Surely she had to know how to deal with this. I found the first years dorm and opened the door.

“Lily.” I yelled.

Four girls all shot up.

“What is it?” Lily snapped.

“It’s Gwen.” I said.

Both Lily and Ivy jumped out of their beds.

“What’s wrong?” Ivy asked.

“Get James.” Lily told me.

“He can’t get up here.” I explained.

“We’ll go get Neville.” Lily said.

Lily led Ivy out of the dorm and down the stairs. I followed after them. When they walked towards the portrait hole I turned and went up to the boys dorm. I went straight to the dorm I knew they would be in.

“James Sirius Potter wake up right now.” I shouted once I’d shut the door to the dorm behind me.

“What’s wrong Molly?” Louis asked.

“No need to shout.” Fred said.

“We’re trying to sleep.” Parker groaned.

“What have I done?” James said.

“It’s Gwen.” I said.

James shot out of bed and ran straight to the door. There were sounds of protests from the other guys. They were all yelling at James wanting him to calm down and go back to bed.

“What going on?” Louis asked me.

“In the morning.” I said before running after James.

When I reached the based of the stairs to the girls dormitory James was also standing there. He looked worried. I think he had been trying to get up the stairs except he couldn’t.

“Lily and Ivy have gone to get Neville.” I said to James.

He began pacing at the bottom of the stairs. He was the only one who really knew what was going on. No one else knew how bad her nightmares were. No one else could help her.

It didn’t take very long for Professor Longbottom to get there. He relieved the charm on the staircase long enough for himself and James to get up the stairs.

As soon as they were up the stairs James burst into our dorm and went straight over to Gwen.

“Gwen, you have to wake up.” He said softly.

Her screaming, which had maintained the entire time I was gone, ceased when James took her hand and started talking to her. She slowly opened her eyes which were now completely white. When she saw James standing over her she threw herself at him and just cried.

He sat down on the bed beside her and just held her. She cried for a while before eventually falling back asleep.

“She’s been having really bad nightmares.” James explained to us. “She couldn’t sleep some nights. Others she spends the whole night crying. It’s horrible. Mum and Dad never cared if we ended up in one bed because they knew I was only helping her sleep.”

“I’ll have to bring this up with the headmistress.” Professor Longbottom said to us. “For now you may stay here for tonight James. I’ll work something out in the morning.”

“Thank you Neville.” James said.

With that I watched as Professor Longbottom left the dorm. Ivy and Lily headed back to their beds and I sat down on mine.

“How often?” I asked James.

“Every few nights.” He said. “Sometimes she’d be fine for a week then they’d come back. Other times she wouldn’t be able to sleep for a week. The thing was that whenever she didn’t sleep I didn’t either. We would stay up talking all night sometimes. Other times we’d just lie in bed while she cried.”

I didn’t have anything to say. It was truly awful. I couldn’t imagine being in that position. Gwen always seemed so strong. What could be the thing that was frightening her so much?

“Did she tell you?” I asked.

“The accident.” James responded. “She’s in the car with them.”

I gasped. I couldn’t imagine how horrible it would be.

James yawned causing me to yawn as well. He smiled at me before moving to lie in Gwen’s bed properly. It was a strange sight to see both James and Gwen in her bed with her holding on to him so tightly. He had his arms around her as well but it was a lot looser than her grip.

I lay down in my bed and went to sleep. I didn’t need any of my spells. Both Kendall and Juliet had long ago fallen asleep. They must have worked out a way to block out the screaming. I’d probably have to deal with them in the morning but if Gwen was actually able to sleep I’d deal with a lot more than Kendall and Juliet’s gossip.

* * *

The next morning I awoke to screeching. Not an owl screeching. Two teenage girls screeching.

“How did he get up here?”

“Why is he in her bed?”

“What does she have that’s so special?”

“He must really like screamers then.”

“She’s honestly pathetic if she thinks this is what will win him over.”

I couldn’t tell who said what. Both of their screeching sounded identical to me. Unfortunately their screeching also woke James and Gwen up.

When Gwen woke up she was confused for a moment. She realised James was holding her and smiled at him. Then she noticed the colouring of the bedding and frowned, her eyes turning purple. Then she acknowledged the screeching.

“Could you two please be quiet?” She said to the screeching girls. “You’re going to give me a headache.”

“Like you didn’t try to give us a headache last night.” Kendall told her.

Gwen’s eyes widened and both her complexion and her eyes went white. I saw both Kendall and Juliet smirk at the change in her eye colour. Both her and James had sat up however he still had his arms around her and she was still leaning against him.

“Why are you in my dorm?” She asked James although she made no move to untangle herself from him.

“Same reason you don’t sleep in Lily’s room.” James muttered.

Kendall and Juliet were confused. I smiled at Gwen while she buried her face in James’ chest in an attempt to hide her embarrassment. James began to rub circles on her back in an attempt to make her feel better.

“Lily told me to get him.” I explained. “She got Professor Longbottom who gave him permission to be up here. He’s making arrangements with the headmistress to help make this better.”

Then there was a small flash. I looked over at Juliet who had a camera in her hands. James was glaring at her. Gwen had turned her head to look out and work out what was going on. She saw the camera in Juliet’s hands and her eyes turned red.

“The press is going to love this photo.” Juliet said smirking.

“Oh no you don’t.” Gwen shrieked as she tried to jump of her bed and James’ arms to attack the girl.

James was stronger than that. He held her back.

“Let me go.” Gwen yelled at him and she began hitting her fists against his arms. “I need to go make some more room in the dorm.”

“Gwen, calm down.” James told her.

“I’m already a harlot.” She said recalling the article that was written about her in the Daily Prophet at the end of the summer. “They’re going to drag my name through the mud even more.”

That article had been bad. It had made it seem like her parents dying was all her fault. That she orchestrated the whole thing to get closer to James and his family.

“We’re here for you.” I told her. “Let’s get dressed. The others are worried about you.”

I remembered the expressions on the other guys faces when James rushed out of their dorm the previous night. I knew they cared about Gwen. They were worried about what was going on with her.

Gwen nodded at me before getting out of her bed and grabbing some clothes. James stayed in her bed wanting to wait for us to return to his dorm. He didn’t really want to be seen leaving the girls dorm by himself.

Once Gwen and I had changed we left the girls dorm with James. As we reached the bottom of the staircase some of the people in the common room began giving us strange looks. They wanted to know why there had been a boy in the girls dorms and how he had gotten there.

James, who I’d expected to look proud, looked rather embarrassed. Gwen grabbed his hand at smiled at him the same way I’d seen him do for her a few other times.

She so liked him.

We made our way up into the boys dorm. As soon as Gwen and James had disappeared from sight I heard whispering start across the common room. There were going to be so many rumours about the two of them. It would be even worse one Kendall and Juliet got involved. And Juliet’s photo.

Once we’d reached the boys dorm. The others were all looking at us. Gwen and James’ hands being joined did not go unnoticed by all three of the guys yet none of them chose to comment.

“So will someone explained what in the name of Merlin happened last night or are we going to be left wondering forever?” Fred asked as soon as we’d all sat down.

James had sat down on his bed and Gwen sat beside him. As usual I found myself joining Louis on his bed. My cousin didn’t really care if I sat there. We were family after all. However nice it was to sit with my cousin though I glanced over at Parker. I would much rather sit there but I knew that would never happen. He shared a dorm with cousins. He probably looked at me the same way they did.

“I’ve been having nightmares all summer.” Gwen explained. “James being there helps make them easier. Being with James makes me feel safe.”

I was shocked. I think everyone else was too. No matter how many times I’d teased her about James I’d never expected her to actually admit something like that. Never.

Oh she so liked him. There was no way she could deny it now. Absolutely no way.

* * *

As the six of us entered the Great Hall all eyes fell on James and Gwen. The rumour mill had been going crazy. I saw Kendall and Juliet sitting at the table already. They were laughing at something as they watched us walk in.

This couldn’t end well.

I saw Lily, Ivy, Hugo and Felix sitting together, the girls on one side of the table and the boys on the other. Louis, Parker and Fred went and sat with the other guys while I sat down beside Lily, Gwen then James on my other side.

“How are you feeling?” Lily asked Gwen leaning over me to speak to her.

She must know the extent of Gwen’s nightmares. I think they must have been the same over the summer. That might actually be the reason Gwen was moved out of Lily’s room.

“Not bad.” Gwen admitted. “I’ve been better.”

“Do you still…” Ivy began before trailing off.

I wasn’t sure what she was going to ask. Maybe she was similar to Gwen needing someone when she had trouble sleeping. Although I think she might be easier to wake up than Gwen. She did wake up when I went into her dorm. If she was easier to wake up it would be easier for her to be moved to Felix and Hugo’s dorm so she could be with her cousin.

“She’s totally going to be my sister.” Lily whispered to me.

I tried not to laugh. I looked at James and Gwen who were beside me. He was helping her as he always used to try to do. Although now she wasn’t protesting. She was smiling as he did it.

“I have no doubts about that.” I replied.

Then I saw Albus and Carter making their way over. With them was a boy who looked like Scorpius except he had brown hair. What the hell was going on?

“So what’s all this stuff about you and my sister?” Carter asked James.

Gwen shot Carter a glare but he just ignored her. Carter trying to be the over protective brother was amusing. He was so much smaller than James so it really didn’t work in this situation. James looked over at Albus who just nodded.

“Gwen was having some trouble sleeping.” James said.

“Don’t try to manipulate the truth.” Gwen told James, giving him a shove in the shoulder, before turning back to her brother. “Nightmares.”

Carter stared at Gwen. He was shocked. I think she must have had nightmares at home before. I don’t think they were ever this bad. Although until now none of her nightmares had followed her Hogwarts. That I knew of anyway.

“James has been helping me.” Gwen explained to Carter.

“Thank you.” Carter said to James.

Carter cares for his sister. A lot. I was just now learning how much he wanted to protect her. Yet with their separation it was becoming harder. I could tell he was glad that there was someone to care for her and be there for her when he couldn’t. I think he was seeing that James wouldn’t be a problem.

James just sent Carter a smile putting his arm around Gwen again. I noticed Gwen lean into him slightly. Honestly if James asked her out now I don’t think she’d be able to say no. But I knew James. There was no way he was going to start asking her out while she was hurting.

We all began to shuffle around on at the table so Carter, Albus and Scorpius could sit with us. We all wanted to be together.

“What’s going on here?” Rose asked when she and Milla arrived at breakfast.

I didn’t say anything I just pointed at James and Gwen. Rose nodded while Milla tried not to giggle. Clearly she found it as adorable as I did.

“Have you heard the rumours?” Albus asked Rose and Milla.

“They’re everywhere.” Milla said. “As soon as we got into the common room people were saying stuff.”

They sat down at the table beside Felix and Hugo, Rose sitting beside her brother. She gave Hugo a small hug which he attempted to avoid.

“Get off me Rose.” Hugo whined trying to shove her off him.

“So how are you going to deal with these rumours?” Scorpius asked Gwen.

“There’s nothing I can do.” She responded.

“Date James.” I said through a cough.

She hit me on the shoulder although it wasn’t like it would have been last year. It was weak and playful rather than actually angry. The others all laughed at her actions.

James just shook his head at the laughter although he, himself was laughing along with everyone.

“I’m serious Gwen.” I told her. “Juliet already has that photo. Once the media gets it there won’t be any stopping it.”

“We’ll be fine.” James said to me. “Leave Gwen alone.”

“Whipped.” I heard Fred say through a cough.

James threw an apple at him. They were so perfect for each other.

“I’ll give you the play James.” Louis said.

“What play?” James asked.

“The Importance of Being Earnest.” I told him.

“Maybe then you can find the perfect line to impress Gwendolen.” Louis said.

Parker was nearly dying of laughter. I think Louis had further explained the play to him after the initially explanation the day of the plan.

“I’m going to tell you now though James, Gwen already knows your name.” Parker told him. “So no, bunburying or pretending to be someone else will not work for you.”

“Oh shut it.” Gwen said. “The lot of you.”

We all started laughing. All fifteen of us. We didn’t care so much for the rumours about us that were being spread. To us it was more about being happy and being together.


	20. Albus

The day wasn't the worst. I mean the weather of the day. It was still a bit cold but that didn't mean that our group couldn't sit outside. I was sitting between Carter and Milla with my back against the trunk of the tree we were sitting against. Both Rose and Scorpius were lying on the ground. While Rose was on her stomach reading a book, Scorpius was on his back, his hat pulled down over his eyes.

Scorpius' hats were slowly becoming the biggest joke of our group. While we all understood why he wore them it was still kind of funny to tease him for them. After all, the hats didn't look any where near half as bad as the blonde hair growing out when he had brown hair. Considering it had now been three months since he'd dyed it he had a fairly long blonde section growing in. There was the harsh line from where his hair had been when he had dyed it and people were starting to make fun of him for it.

The term was starting to draw on and we were about half way through it. As we got closer to the break I started to wonder what would happen at Christmas this year. I felt bad for Gwen and Carter as they'd both be separated from their families for Christmas. Ivy had it a little easier as she was with their cousin, aunt and uncle. And as much as they might want to spend Christmas with their family I know that my parents want Gwen with us and I imagine Scorpius' Dad and Grandma would want Carter with them.

Then I had a brilliant idea.

"Hey Scorp, if I asked Dad, would your family want to join us for Christmas?" I asked.

Scorpius sat up, pushing the hat back from his eyes. I enjoyed seeing what hat he would wear each day. Rose had owled Gran to tell her about Scorpius' hair. I'm not exactly sure why but since then Scorpius has been receiving a new hat every week. It was nice that Gran was so supportive of our friendship with him. I'd like to think that she'd be as polite to Draco if his family joined us.

"I'd have to ask Grandma." Scorpius said. "Why do you ask? You've never said anything before."

"Well Carter's with your family." I explained. "And Gwen's with mine. It would be nice for them to at least get to spend the holiday together because I know Mum and Dad will insist she spend Christmas with all our family."

"I didn't think about that." Carter muttered.

I felt bad for the two of them. They'd both lost a lot in the past few months. And while Carter could actually cope with it and continue with life I think it was a little harder for Scorpius than he was letting on. I don't think he was doing as well as he wanted us to believe. I think they needed a chance to spend time with more than just one another over the break.

"I also have Theo, Daphne and Adeline to think about." Scorpius said as he lay back down pulling his hat over his eyes again. "You did ask Adeline to get Theo to sort out Father so I probably owe him."

Scorpius wanted me to ask Dad if Adeline and her parents could come as well? I didn't think Scorpius even liked Adeline. But I wouldn't mind her being there.

"On second thought, don't invite Adeline." He said after a moment.

"Why not?" I asked him. "She's your family too."

"If we're inviting all their family then we should invite Ivy and Felix as well." Rose added placing her bookmark in the page she was up to and looking up.

"What's with you and you're obsession with Adeline?" Scorpius asked me.

"I mean now that Mum and Dad are gone I'd imagine Aunt Hazel and Uncle Harold would want to spend the holidays with Parker's family." Carter expressed.

"Then we invite his family too." Rose said.

All while they were discussing who to invite Milla was watching on in silence. She looked a little upset although I couldn't work out why she would be.

"What's wrong Milla?" I asked her softly.

"You're all talking about inviting all these people to your family Christmas." Milla explained. "Not once has my family been mentioned. And I'm actually your family."

"Don't be ridiculous Milla." I told her. "I don't need to owl Dad to ask if you can come. He's probably already either visited or owled your dad."

Milla let out a small laugh. I think she was more relieved than anything.

"It would be so amazing if we could all spend Christmas together." Milla said to the whole group.

"Cause Adeline joining us won't wreck that at all." Scorpius muttered.

"Scorp, you know she's friends with Roxy and Lucy as well as Alice and the Scamander twins, all of who will be there." Rose explained.

"Then all our little groups could go off together." Carter squealed mimicking how Milla normally acted in this sort of situation.

"Don't make fun of me Carter." She said giving him a shove.

She wasn't in the same playful mood as she normally was. There wasn't any of the normal excited squealing coming from her.

"I'm just a little worried about Katie." She explained. "She doesn't know any of you guys. I don't know what she'd do."

I looked at her for a moment. She had a point. As much as I could tell Milla loved her sister, it was clear she wouldn't want her hanging around with us.

"How old is she?" Rose asked.

"She's just turned seventeen." Milla said.

"Well she'll either end up with Gwen's group or Dominique." Rose said.

"I don't think she'd cope well with Gwen's group." Milla admitted.

"Then we'll introduce her to Dominique." I told her.

Milla sent smiled to both me and Rose. Gran was going to be happy if there was such a big group of people coming. She would get to make jumpers for everyone. Everyone in the family knew how much she loved doing that.

"I should go write to Dad." I said getting up. "I'm asking about the Malfoys, Felix's family and Parker's family. Adeline's family? Yes or no, Scorp?"

Scorpius groaned. I think all this mention of Adeline was driving him crazy. He really didn't like his cousin. Like a lot. I couldn't see why though. She was nice enough.

"I know you want to invite her." Scorpius muttered.

"Why?" Milla asked ma. "Do you like her or something?"

I could feel my face heating up. As I looked at my friend I saw Rose making the face she made when she was trying not to laugh. Carter wasn't able to control himself. He had burst out laughing. However Scorpius' reaction was the most terrifying. He sat up as quickly as possible, pulling the hat off his eyes, and sent me the most horrible glare. I tried to shrink away from it. As Scorpius glared at me I heard both Rose and Milla join Carter in his laughter.

"You stay away from my cousin." Scorpius told me.

I just shrugged but inside I was dying. I was completely terrified. He was scary. Although I would be the same it was Lily, or Rose, Roxy or Lucy, or even Milla. And I'm sure Carter would be the same with Ivy. We all knew he needn't do anything for Gwen. Her and James were going to be together.

"But really, it would be nice if your family could join us." I explained. "And Adeline is your family. So it would make sense."

"Sure that's the reason." Carter said through his laughter.

Milla had a book with her as she had also been reading when we had joined her and Rose by the tree. I picked it up and hit Carter in the back of the head with it.

"Oi." Carter said leaping over to wrestle me.

"Maybe we shouldn't tease him outside the dorm." Scorpius said. "He can do so much more damage with a book than a pillow."

"Or maybe you should just leave me alone." I said as I tried to push Carter off of me.

"Nah." Both the guys said.

I could hear both Milla and Rose laughing at us. It was obvious they were enjoying themselves. It was nice for us all to be out here together. Even if it did end with them all teasing me for something that was definitely not true.

* * *

"Could you please get my brother?" I asked a girl who looked to be in second year as she went into the common room.

"Who's your brother?" She asked me.

I stared at her. Who didn't know my family? It was just bizarre. Everyone knew the Potters. Everyone. I'd never had to tell anyone who I was or who my brother was before.

"James Potter." I said still rather confused.

She stared at me for a moment before dashing into the common room and coming out a few moments later with James.

"Thank you..." I started, trailing off because I didn't know her name.

"Kylie." She said.

"Thank you Kylie." I said to her.

She smiled at me before heading back into the common room.

"What is it Al?" James asked with a yawn.

"Nightmares again?" I asked him.

"They seem to be getting worse." He muttered. "If that's even possible. Do you want to come in? I don't anyone would mind. You are a Potter after all."

I smiled and nodded at him following him into the common room. James didn't go to the couches as I'd expected him to. Instead he headed towards the dormitory stairs.

"Gwen's up there." He explained. "I don't want to leave her there for too long."

I didn't need to say anything. After we'd gotten to the dorm I saw the other guys and Molly all sitting around. Gwen was curled up in one of the beds. I could only assume it was James' bed.

"Hey Al." Molly called out to me.

"Hey Molly." I said.

I walked over to sit next to Fred on his bed. The bed was right next to James' so it made sense.

"My group of friends were talking about Christmas." I explained.

"Christmas already?" Louis asked me.

"Well I wrote to Dad to ask if some extra people could join us." I explained.

"How many extras?" Fred asked becoming a little concerned.

Events with our family were already rather large so adding more people might just make it even crazier.

"Well, Scorpius' family, because Carter's living there." I explained. "Meaning I've also asked if Adeline's family can come. Continuing on I asked if Ivy and Felix can come so Gwen, Carter and Ivy can all be together. Then Carter pointed out that they would probably spend the holidays with Parker's family so I've asked about your family too Parker."

"That's a lot of people." Parker muttered.

"Oh, you forget Parker, our family's giant to begin with." Molly said. "Plus, the Longbottoms and Scamanders join us as well."

Parker's eyes widened. I don't think he'd ever been in a family so big.

"I thought it would be good for Gwen and Carter to have one another." I explained to James.

"Thank you." James said to me sending me a smile.

It wasn't often that James thanked me for anything. It was nice to hear him say that. It was clear how much he cared about Gwen. Everything he did just made it more and more clear. They were so close.

* * *

I was back in the common room when I saw Adeline walk in and head towards her dorm.

"Adeline." I called out to her.

"Albus?" She asked confused as to why I was seeking her out.

"Hey, I, um, I wrote to my dad recently." I began to explain. "To ask about Christmas. I invited Scorpius and thought we should invite your family too. Dad's said it's fine so if you want to ask your parents. You don't have to come of course. It was just if you wanted to. Our Christmas is rather crazy. But I thought because your friends would all be there you might enjoy it."

Adeline laughed. Oh no. I started rambling. Damn it. Now I sound like Milla.

"I'd love to come." Adeline said. "I'll owl Dad. I think he'd like it. He wants to get Mum out of the house. It might do them some good to go to a big party. Thank you."

"No problem." I said.

We both stood there awkwardly for a while not knowing what to say. What could I say to her?

"Well, um, I'm going to head up to my dorm." Adeline told me.

"Alright." I responded. "See you later."

"Bye Albus." She said with a smile.

"Bye Adeline." I responded.

I watched as she turned and walked up to her dorm. When she reached the bottom of the stairs she turned and sent me a smile. I smiled back. I'm completely hopeless.

* * *

"Al?" I heard Lily call from behind me.

"Hey Lily." I said turning around to face my sister.

"I heard you were looking for me." She said me.

"Yeah, I was." He said. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

Lily gave me a weird look. She was confused, obviously.

"What are you planning?" She asked.

Okay, maybe she wasn't entirely confused. What she was saying made sense. James and I mainly went to her when we were planning something. Lily gets away with so much more than us.

"Nothing bad, I promise." I told her. "Actually the complete opposite. I've organised with Dad to invite everyone to Christmas."

"What do you mean by everyone?" Lily asked me.

"Carter, Ivy, Felix, Scorpius, Parker and Adeline." I listed. "And their families."

"You're crazy." She told me. "You know that right, you're absolutely crazy. How did you get Dad to agree?"

"Well, he hasn't written back yet." I admitted. "But I think I reasoned it pretty well. I said Gwen would need Carter and Ivy. But Carter and Ivy now live with others and would have been spending Christmas with their families so just invite them all."

Lily just nodded. I don't think she believed me.

"Gwen needs her family." I explained. "You saw her all summer. Without her family at Christmas she might go crazy. We need to support her."

"And this has nothing to do with that little crush of yours that Milla and Rose informed me of?" Lily teased.

I just stared at her. My friends could be so annoying sometimes. How dare they say that sort thing. It wasn't their place to talk about it. I am going to kill Carter for spreading that. Actually maybe not.

"Shut up." I told her.

"It's fine Al." She told me with a laugh before walking off. "I promise I won't tell."

I stared at her as she left. I really hate her sometimes. 


End file.
